The Burdened Deathcake
by Naruto6023
Summary: What would've happened if it was Naruto instead of Ichigo? What if it was Rangiku instead of Rukia on that night? What if it was Konoha instead of Karakura town? How GREAT/ DISASTROUS the consequences would be? NaruHarem.
1. The Birth of Deathcake

**So hello there people! Thanks for thinking about giving this fic a try atleast. ^_^**

**So first of all, let's make some things clear. This fic will mainly be AU and a NarutoxHarem fic (No incest though if some of you might be wondering), with around 7-8 eight women in it. Rangiku Matsumoto though is obviously in, the others I've decided and will tell you later.**

**Naruto in this will be his goofy self, but he will NOT be an idiot. Also, there will be lemons if some of you are wondering, but later in the story. The rest you will understand as you read this through.**

**Lastly, I would like to request you readers to please read this with a clear and open mind, specially in the first few chapters. There will be many concepts explained, and it would be better if you don't skim through these chapters. **

**Enough of my ramblings though, let's start this sucker. **

**TIME FRAME- **And oh, one really important thing, this fic will start in Konoha, one month before the academy graduation exams (the one in which Mizuki incident happens, i.e. it will be Naruto's third try).

**Hope you enjoy it! ^_^**

**Chapter 1-The Birth of Deathcake**

"Hey old man, your hands itching for preparing some ramen?," asked a twelve year blonde as he popped his head through the curtains of Ichiraku Ramen's stand, a light grin on his face.

"Naruto-kun!," a woman, possibly in her late teens spoke with a bright smile on her beautiful face.

"If it isn't my favourite customer! Sure! So, the usual right?," the previously addressed old man asked with a fatherly smile.

"Yep," replied Naruto with a grin as he sat on the stool while the female teen was looking at him with a smile, a light blush on her face.

"So Naruto-kun, how was your day?," she asked, her black shining eyes totally concentrated on him as he smiled a bit lazily at her.

"Fun as usual Ayame-chan. Pranked several people, got those Anbu and jounins trailing me and again as usual, they couldn't catch me," he spoke with a grin while rubbing the back of his head as the old ramen chef: Teuchi, prepared his ramen behind Ayame. A comfortable silence ensued between the trio when Teuchi spoke while preparing the noodles.

"Naruto, I've noticed that generally you are quite hyperactive during the day, but when you come here at night...it seems as though you aren't your self."

"Oh c'mon Tou-san! Give him a break," Ayame spoke while glaring at her father when Naruto spoke.

"It's winter time oji-san, the breeze is chilly at night. I don't feel like goofing around. Besides, it's 10 pm, you can't expect me to yell and keep running when the streets are empty and people are sleeping," a chuckle escaping his mouth as he rubbed his hands together to produce some warmth while Teuchi laughed out loud with Ayame giggling cutely.

"That's right my boy! But you've got some stamina to evade all those Anbu and jounins at such young age. I just can't fathom the fact that you can get lazy," the old ramen chef spoke with a smile as he set the steaming bowl of ramen on the counter.

The heavenly set of miso ramen inhaling his nostrils, he grinned brightly before the grabbing the chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu!," he exclaimed out loudly before digging in.

"How's the academy going Naruto-kun?," Ayame asked with a smile as she watched him eat while Teuchi was cleaning the cooking slab.

A frown formed on his features, his oceanic blue eyes saddening a bit as he stopped eating.

"It would've been going fine if it wasn't for my chakra problem. It's been three years already and still I can't seem to get a hold of it," the blonde said as he sighed dejectedly while Ayame's expression saddened too.

"Still no progress huh? I don't understand, if you can manipulate chakra like other shinobi, then why can't you do those simple techniques properly?," she spoke while Teuchi had a grim expression on his face.

"I just don't know. I can build large amounts of chakra, but it's so difficult to control. I don't know how to explain it but, it's like my chakra is unstable or something. I have to put so much effort to just do the kawarimi and henge jutsus, but the bunshin one seems out of reach," he spoke as the frown on Teuchi's face deepened while Ayame stared at him with soft eyes.

"But don't you worry! I'll find a way around this and become hokage one day! After all, I got to have something special in me to outrun those jounins when I'm so young!," he exclaimed with a goofy grin on his face making Teuchi and Ayame smile at him.

Slurping up the soup, he spoke enthusiastically.

"Another bowl oji-san!"

**Konoha: The Hokage Monument: Present Time**

The full moon shining brightly, it was winter time in Konoha as a cool breeze swept through the village. Almost all the civilians were sleeping right now with the hokage and guard patrols full on alert.

Suddenly though, just above the yondaime hokage's head, the thin air began wavering a bit as a slight disturbance took place.

SWISH!

A non uniform small rift suddenly opened, bright light emanating from it as gusts of wind started to flow around the rift which was getting larger.

THUD!

A person skidded across the surface of the yondaime's head monument, who had dashed through the rift which was now getting smaller.

"D-Damn," voice feminine, she appeared to be panting as sweat poured down her face. Propping herself on her elbows, she intook deep breaths before shakily standing up.

Her form reflecting the moonlight, now revealed to be a blonde woman of stunning beauty. She had long wavy blonde hair, shining blue eyes, thick attractive lashes, a beauty mark just below the right side of her full pink luscious lips which were now curled down to form a frown. Her face was heart shaped, her breasts voluptous, long slender arms and legs while she had a curvaceuos figure any woman would kill for.

Coming to her attire, she was wearing a black garb, her robes hanging loosely for her ample bosom to be revealed. She was wearing a thin golden necklace tucked between her cleavage while there was a long pink scarf on her shoulders. There was also a strange armband on her uniform's obi sash. On her back, was a an average sized sheathed katana which was tied to her. All in all, she was a woman of remarkable beauty standing at a hieght of 5 foot 8 inches.

"Where am I?," she asked to herself softly, her eyes wide as she gazed upon the large village in front of her.

"This isn't Karakura town. I can sense it, but...is this even the right dimension?," she spoke to herself with a shocked expression. Taking out the **Denreishinki **(Divine Messenger Machine), which looked like a cell phone, she activated it as it's screen illuminated with a bright light.

"Hello, Matsumoto Rangiku, vice captain of tenth division speaking. I repeat, Matsumoto Rangiku speaking. Requesting for dimensional coordinates," she spoke but got no response, only hazy sounds which made her sigh.

"I guess there's no connection right now. I'll have to try again later. But what is this place?," the now defined Rangiku wondered to herself as she stood on the hokage monument.

"I don't know where, but I'll have to say this is beautiful," she whispered in awe upon gazing at the large village.

Her eyebrows though scrunched in concentration as she suddenly remembered what had happened for her to get here in the first place, a cute pout on her face.

'_Damn them. Kuchiki-san was the one who was originally assigned to the Karakura town, why did Ukitake-taicho had to get more ill at such point of time?,'_ she thought to herself when a frown formed on her delicate features.

_'But then, even with the __**Jigokuchō**_(Hell Butterfly)_ escorting me through the __**Senkaimon **_(World Penetration Gate), _I entered Dangai which shouldn't have been possible. And then, most probably by coincident...I happened to be there when the __**Kōtotsu**_(Wresting Surge) _was on it's weekly sweep,'_ she thought before sighing, it was just probably one of those bad days. Though being chased by that bullet train in Dangai they call Kōtotsu surely put her through some exercise, which explains why she was panting and all sweaty.

She gulped at the thought of what could've happened if she would've been caught by the sweep. Suddenly her face again adopted an expression of immense confusion as she thought this through.

_'Also, being chased by Kōtotsu is said to create time distortion. According to that, I should've reached a dimension with a time gap of around 100 years and ultimately should've died because of my body not being able to keep up with the time skip. And here I'm standing completely fine without a scratch, possibly in another dimension,'_ she wondered while rubbing her temples.

Activating the Denreishinki again, she again began scrambling her fingers on it when she sighed in relief.

"Atleast the GPS (Global Positioning System) is still working. This will help me keep track of hollows, pluses and other shinigami...if there are present here that is. And the limiter seems to be working fine too," she mumbled to herself as her hair flew with the breeze, a yawn escaping her lips.

"Oh well, I'm sure everything will be okay! I'll sort this out tomorrow, but now I'm going to sleep. I wonder if there is any sake here, or any bars like the human world has. Hmm...but this world has humans too," she said to herself with a bright smile before adopting an expression of confusion, her easy-going personality now surfacing.

Shrugging to herself, she stretched her arms as her ample bosom jiggled with her movements.

"Oh well, I'll think over this mess tomorrow. There must be a place here where I can sleep," she shrugged to herself before again yawning. Using **shunpo **(flash step), the shinigami vanished from atop the monument, leaving only dust hovering in air.

**Streets of Konoha: Present Time**

"The moon's full today," muttered Naruto to himself with a smile as he gazed at the moon. He was currently walking through the streets. After apparently wolfing down five bowls of ramen, he had decided to take a walk around the village.

The blonde was currently wearing a black civilian jacket underneath which was a dark blue shirt, followed by dark blue shinobi pants. He sighed, his hot breath visible due to the chilling cold.

_'Hi no Kuni my ass! I never understood why this country hosts such chilly winter every year, the name must have been kept by some noble idiot who sits by the fireplace masturbating while we ninja rot in this season,'_ thought Naruto with a 'huff' as he kicked a pebble, it's sound echoing through the vacant streets.

"Not that I'm a ninja right now anyway," he murmured to himself with a pout as he turned his head to gaze at the hokage monument behind him.

_'Yeah, I'm gonna do something big one day. I will surpass you guys,'_ he spoke inwardly with a determined stare.

"Naruto-kun!," he snapped his head backwards to see a beautiful woman running towards him.

"Shiroi-san," the blonde spoke quietly with a smile as she stopped in front of him, a soft smile on her face. She was wearing a plain purple kimono with a black sash, a bit of her cleavage was revealed making him blush a bit. She had long silver hair, a heart shaped face, her shining eyes were light green in colour while her skin was milk creamy. The young woman looked to be in her early twenties though.

And most importantly, a black chain was protruding out of her chest which was hanging limply in front of her.

"How are you?," she spoke with a soft smile while he grinned back.

"As usual!," he replied with a thumps up making her giggle, who was taller than him.

True, he could see ghosts. These people who had died, he noticed that some of them had broken chains hanging by their chests, some had their chains connected to an object or some had it attached to a particular location.

People called him demon, an abdomination, cursed him, ignored him, beated him, glared at him and what not. These ghosts or spirits, who could not seen by anyone else were amongst the few ones which help him out of this solitude. Though strangely, most of the souls he sees would disappear after a day or two.

He rarely saw any ghosts here in Konoha anyway.

_'It may be because Konoha is now peaceful and not under war. Hence the number of casualties are very less and the death rate is low. Add to the fact that there have been great breakthroughs in the field of medical ninjutsu in the past several years,'_ he thought, apparently having heard some lectures in the academy.

But the one in front of him, Shiroi...strangely was an exception who he remembered having met her two weeks ago. She was rude to him at first, seeing as he was the demon brat...but seeing that no one else could interact with her, they got to know each other. And boy was she surprised, he was like...the cutest and nicest kid she had met in her life. He was nowhere near of what she thought him to be, and was really funny.

However, he did remember when the first time he had seen a ghost several years ago. During the daytime, he had asked a guy about the strange chain on his chest, when he noticed that other people were just phasing through the guy, they couldn't see him! And he could, he could speak with him, he could hear him, he could touch him...it made him freak out but slowly he came around that. He came to accept that he was different, and that was it. No one would believe that he could see ghosts, not even jij. It was just his little secret. And maybe that was the reason people called him a demon.

"Come here Naruto-kun," Shiroi spoke with a smile, snapping him out of his thoughts as he walked near her with some hesitancy.

She gently hugged him, a smile on her face as she tenderly rubbed his back while he initially stiffened into the hug.

"Relax you baka," she spoke with a giggle while his face was pressed into her ample bosom, a furious blush on his face.

_'Damn this feels good,'_ he thought as he promptly closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her back gently.

"I'm sorry for treating you harshly Naruto-kun. I shouldn't have listened to the villagers back then. Even though we had never met, I still hated you," she spoke with a sad expression when he pulled back from the hug.

"It's okay I guess. You don't hate me now, that makes me happy. Atleast I was able to change one person. Besides you are among the few ghosts who atleast talked to me and gave me a chance," the blonde said with a smile when he a shivered a bit.

_'And there's this another strange thing about me never getting sick like normal people do,'_ he thought with a sigh when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go to your apartment Naruto-kun. It must be chilling for you to be staying out here," she spoke softly as they started to walk towards his apartment.

"It's not fair that you guys don't feel any cold. I wish I could do that," he spoke with a pout making her giggle at him as she ruffled his blonde hair affectionately.

_'It's strange that I seek comfort from ghosts, which were amongst the few things I was scared from, instead of the living a life!,'_ he exclaimed inwardly in exasperation as they walked through the secluded streets.

**Konoha: Naruto's Apartment: Fifteen Minutes Later**

Click!

Opening the door with a click after unlocking it, Naruto and Shiroi entered the apartment.

"Ahh, home sweet home!," he exclaimed with a grin as he discarded his jacket while Shiroi looked around his apartment with amusement on her face.

"It's pretty cozy and clean, unlike the last time," she spoke with a smile when he huffed.

"Well a certain someone found it appealing to threaten me into cleaning the apartment," he said in annoyance upon walking past the corridor(connecting to the door) to enter the drawing room where Shiroi was standing.

"Make yourself comfortable Shiroi-san. I'll be back in a minute," he spoke as he went towards the bedroom when he heard her stern voice.

"Naruto-kun, how many times have I asked you not to call me that?," she asked with a light glare making him rub the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh right, gomen Shiroi-chan," Naruto spoke with a smile making her nod in satisfaction.

Opening the door to his bedroom, he thought he heard some light sounds. Shrugging, he switched on the lights before walking towards the bathroom as he began to sing quietly to himself.

"Uzumaki was kung-fu fighting! Oh Yo!"

"He was as fast as lightning! Uhuh!"

"Sasuke-teme was a little bitch trembling! Oh yeah!"

"His duck-ass foliage burning! Oh my!"

Opening the door, he continued singing...

"Ohohohoooo, sexy kung-fu fighter!"

"Kick the teme higher!"

He continued to sing in a quiet voice as he turned on the hot shower when suddenly he froze.

_'Was that...my bed sheets weren't black were they?'_ he thought with wide eyes before dashing out of the bathroom. He slammed to a stop like he had been instantly fossilized while his breathing hitched in his throat.

He immediately took out a kunai from a drawer besides him as quietly as possible, his eyes narrowed as he glared at the form laying on his bed comfortably.

His brain was running a mile per minute as he thought over what he should do.

_'Who's this woman? Did she come here to kill me? But then why is she sleeping on my bed so soundly? Could it be another trick to destroy my apartment? She isn't a ghost as there's no chain coming out of her chest? Could it be a shinobi using transformation jutsu?,'_ so many thoughts took birth in his head like a wildfire.

Here in front of him was laying our busty shinigami, Rangiku Matsumoto, who was snoring lightly with her dim blonde hair sprawled on the bed. Apparently, she was still wearing her shinigami robes.

Naruto though blushed when he noticed her voluptous chest fall and rise with each breath, her revealed cleavage only increasing his blush when he shook his head to clear such thoughts.

_'I can't waste time here. This is a serious situation! Though it atleast gives me reference for my sexy transformation jutsu,'_ he thought with a small smirk as he slowly approached her.

He suddenly stopped though upon noticing a sheathed katana laying by the side of the bed, opposite to the side he was standing in.

Walking around the bed sneakily, he carefully leaned his right hand forward. First he had to get the weapon away from her, just in case she tried to kill him; which probably was the case here. Just when his hand had barely touched the hilt,

THUD!

He stood frozen there, his hand grabbing thin air while he watched the woman standing on the floor (on the opposite side of the bed where Naruto had come from) with wide eyes.

Rangiku's eyes were intially narrowed at him, the katana in one hand while the hilt was in the other when suddenly her blue orbs widened.

Meanwhile, Naruto had every muscle and bone locked tight in his body as they continued to stare at each other with widened eyes.

He suddenly jumped back with a kunai in his hand, his eyes cold as he glared at her. Though inwardly, he was praying to Kami to spare his life today. He had seen the crazy display of speed and acrobatics by the woman...atleast for him it was crazy. She had suddenly grabbed her sheathed katana out of the blue, before flipping back from the bed to land on the floor, all in a time frame of one second or even less!

Hardening his expression, Naruto steeled his voice before speaking, he did not want to give her an impression of a scared child after all.

"W-What do you want?," he mentally cursed himself for the stutter, kunai held in a reverse grip in front of his face defensively while her blue orbs zoomed out in surprise even further.

Rangiku though turned her head backwards, then sideways as if confirming that they were the only one present in the room.

Naruto's eyes though began twitching as he watched the strange woman, he thought she was here to kill him or something and not observe the architecture of his apartment!

Her widened eyes then finally again settled on him making the blonde visibly stiffen as they continued to stare into each other's eyes.

"You can see me?," Rangiku asked with widened eyes, her finger pointing at herself to emphasize her question.

THUD!

Naruto fell face first on the floor, a groan escaping his buried face.

"Um kid, are you alright?," she asked while taking a step towards him when he sprang comically from the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IF I CAN SEE YOU! DO YOU THINK I AM BLIND? WHO DO YOU THINK I WAS TALKING TO LADY?," screamed Naruto, his face burning red in anger as he pointed an index finger at her when her eyes widened again. She was just acting like that Sasuke-teme, all cool and mighty.

"Whoa, you can hear me too!," she exclaimed while now Naruto's ears began to exhale steam as he took in a deep breath.

_'Calm yourself Naruto! Calm yourself! This crazy lady's just playing with you,'_ he thought while taking deep breaths, the colour of his face returning to normal now.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong? I heard you yelling," his eyes widened when heard Shiroi's voice, the sound of her footsteps indicating that she was coming to the room.

Meanwhile, Rangiku couldn't help but be flabbergasted. This child, who was a living human as there was no chain of fate attached to his chest could see her, a shinigami. Closing her eyes for a bit, she concentrated on her senses before opening them, her eyes yet again widened in immense shock.

_'No way! You mean to tell me this kid was the one who I earlier detected? Even with a physical body, he was releasing __**reiryoku**__ (Spiritual Power)earlier. And now too, it seems he's subconsciously releasing a small amount of it. He must have huge innate spiritual energy reserves to release it without even him knowing. Being able to see us a bit hazily, even that is a rare phenomenon with a probability of one among millions of humans. But this boy, not only can he see me clearly, he can clearly hear me too. Add to fact that he was able to touch __**Haineko **__(Ash Cat) means that he can touch us, beings who are made of __**reishi**__ (Spirit Particles). And I can also feel a tiny amount of __**reiatsu **__(Spiritual Pressure) his reiryoku is producing. Just who is this kid?,'_ thought Rangiku with a serious expression when she heard someone besides her.

"Naruto-kun, wha-," Shiroi stopped midway upon reaching the door to see a busty woman standing in the room, Naruto being on the further side, who was staring at her with wide eyes.

"Naruto-kun, who's she?," Shiroi asked with a confused expression while the blonde just stared at her, as if silently telling her that he'll explain later.

He couldn't be talking to ghosts when someone's here to kill him right? The blonde haired woman might make a scramble and start yelling that he's a freak or something. Who knows, another mob would be chasing him today then?

Matsumoto though turned her head to see a woman, a bit shorter than. Her eyes did widen in realisation though when she saw the chain of fate.

_'So the boy must have befriended this soul. Or that she might be a relative of his,'_ thought the vice captain.

"You can see me?," Shiroi asked in surprise when she noticed that Matsumoto had looked at her.

"Ah yes. You're not alive anymore, I know," Rangiku said with a warm smile while Shiroi's eyes widened along with Naruto's.

"Y-You can s-see ghosts too?," Naruto stuttered, his mouth opened agape as he lowered his kunai a bit.

"Yes, I guess you can call them ghosts," said Matsumoto with a chuckle.

"See Naruto-kun! I told you there may be other people too who could see ghosts. You're not entirely different!," Shiroi said with a smile while Naruto lips curled up a bit.

Matsumoto though was completely intrigued by this young kid. Normally kids his age in the other human world would cower in fear given the situation, and here he was standing with a brave front, his eyes cold.

"You can put that knife down, it's not like I'm gonna hurt you or anything ," she said softly, a warm smile on her face. Usually she would be free spirited and casual, but she had her soft and serious side too.

"Your katana first," Naruto spoke firmly as he tightened the grip on his kunai.

"Oh sorry!," Matsumoto exclaimed as she quickly sheathed Haineko before slinging it on her back.

"And this is a zanpakutou, not a katana," she spoke making Shiroi and Naruto look at her in confusion, but they just drank in their question about what she meant.

"What's your name boy?," Rangiku asked as he started to twirl the kunai absent mindedly around his index fingers making her eyes widen.

Naruto froze when he found his hand grabbed by Matsumoto, Shiroi having the same expression as they watched her literally vanish into thin air to appear behind him.

_'Such speed! She must be a really strong kunoichi, though her dress code is strange I'll have to say,'_ Shiroi thought as she entered the room now.

"Hey, you shouldn't play with such sharp objects like that!," Rangiku said with a frown while Naruto blushed as he found her breasts resting on his head.

Grabbing the kunai off her hand he put one hand on the floor before flipping forwards, twirling himself in midair to stand in front of her, a frown on his face.

Matsumoto's jaw though dropped, a kid like him moving with such speed and performing acrobatics like that with such ease, it was astounding! In the other human world, she had never seen any kid like the one in front of him.

Though his speed was still painfully slow for shinigami like them, it was fast for a human child.

"How did you do that kid? Did you have training of some sorts?," Rangiku asked with wide eyes while a vein popped on his forehead.

"I'm not a kid lady! Show some respect here! It's Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo!," he yelled making the two women blink while in Soul Society, a certain silver haired captain sneezed.

Matsumoto giggled to herself in amusement while Shiroi too started giggling making Naruto pout as he crossed his arms childishly.

_'He's a cutie,'_ the blonde shinigami thought with a smile.

"Ah sorry Naruto. My name is Matsumoto Rangiku," she responded making Naruto nod as he put the kunai back in the drawer.

"And for the record, that was a kunai and not a sword," he spoke making the blonde shinigami blink in confusion.

"What's a kunai?," she asked making Naruto pinch the bridge of his nose in what seemed to be frustration and annoyance while Shiroi too was looking at her wierdly.

"Which world are you even living in Rangiku-san?," asked the whiskered blonde sarcastically when she replied innocently.

"Well atleast not from this world," inwardly amused to play the innocent act while he just ignored her and sat on the edge of his bed, facing her with a serious expression on his face.

"Alright, enough of this. Since this is my apartment, I think I have the right to ask you that why were you sleeping on my bed?," he asked with a serious expression making Shiroi's eyes go wide in immense surprise while a light blush lit Rangiku's cheeks as she smiled embarrassingly.

_'Damn I have to admit, this woman's really beautiful. But she doesn't hate me, or could it be that it's just a mask so that she could get through me. I don't know but I have to be extremely careful,'_ he thought with a light blush.

"Since you possess so much spiritual energy, I guess it would be better if you knew about the concepts of afterlife," she spoke seriously making his eyes widen along with Shiroi's.

"You mean what happens after a person dies?," he asked with a shocked expression on his face, Shiroi just as surprised while the blonde shinigami nodded seriously.

"For starters, I'm not a living human. You ca-,"

"Then do you mean to say that you're a ghost just like Shiroi-chan? But you don't have any chain attached to your chest," he said, his cheeks becoming heated a bit at the mention of her chest. Rangiku's eyes though started twitching, he hadn't even let her finish.

"No I'm not a ghost like Shiroi-san. In a sense I am, but not a normal one. I have special powers you know," she paused before taking a deep breath, this will blow the blonde away.

"I'm a shinigami Naruto," she said with a serious expression on her face. Naruto's and Shiroi's faces though looked like the world had collapsed in front of them, pin drop silence in the apartment.

"I know it's-," she suddenly emitted a tiny amount of her reiryoku upon noticing that Naruto was again about to interrupt her.

"W-What?," he was barely able to choke out when he found himself struggling to stand, his knees buckling.

_'What is this feeling? It's as if the gravity suddenly increased. I can't even breathe properly, it's like the air itself has become heavier,'_ he thought, his eyes widened while his breathing came in short pants, sweat trickling down his face. Turning his head back slowly, his eyes further widened upon noticing that Shiroi was on the floor, panting as she struggled to even lift herself with her elbows.

Rangiku though immediately lowered her reiryoku. Naruto and Shiroi now felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off their shoulders, beads of sweat trickling down their foreheads while Shiroi panted heavily.

"W-What was that?," the blonde asked with a hint of anger in his voice, his breathing much more in control before he ran back to help Shiroi.

"That was for interrupting me Naruto. Don't do that until I'm finished. The burden, pressure you can say, which you now felt was the result of me releasing my spiritual energy. That pressure is called reiatsu," she spoke while he gently helped Shiroi to stand up.

"Are you okay Shiroi-chan?," he asked with concern in his oceanic eyes as she slowly stood up.

"I'm fine Naruto-kun. Arigatou," she said with a smile as they wiped their foreheads.

"We shinigami come from another dimension, a place called soul society. One of our main duties is to send the people to afterlife, that is soul society...or what you can say heaven."

Seeing that Rangiku had paused, he asked her with a grim expression. This shinigami part, he didn't understand a bit, nor did he find it possible or logical. Though there was one thing which piqued his interest.

"Spiritual energy. You said you released spiritual energy right? ," she nodded seriously.

"But what about physical energy? Chakra is a combination of spiritual and physical energy in equal amounts, then do you mean to say that you just released raw spiritual energy?," he again asked with wide eyes while the female shinigami in front of him blinked in confusion.

"Chakra you say. I've never heard of such thing," Matsumoto asked making Naruto narrow his eyes while Shiroi too was having a difficult time accepting all of this. Did Rangiku mean that she would be sent to this soul society place? She had earlier thought this was all the afterlife had to offer. That she would just linger in this world forever like a ghost. It was like their whole world had been turned upside down in just a couple of minutes!

Naruto too though was having so many thoughts running through his head. Like so many other people thought, he wasn't an idiot and actually had a decent IQ which could impress Shikamaru. He did have a goofy personality that made him look like an idiot, but he was not. And the academy teachers sabotaging his exams didn't help his reputation too.

_'The way she has been talking until now, it all points to the crazy fact that she indeed has come from another world, or dimension of sorts. I mean, who wouldn't know of chakra and kunai in this world. Even civilians know of the basics of the techniques ninja use. And that reiatsu thing she pulled earlier, it wasn't chakra, so that flushes out the possibility of her being a shinobi. And a civilian definitely can't do that. Then could she really be a shinigami?...But in the books we read in academy had shown the shinigami as a viscious monster of sorts, large teeth, a knife in it's mouth...the one in front of me though is a woman, a beautiful one at that,'_ he thought, his mind working at it's full capacity as he tried to process these facts, beyond the boundaries of logic.

Matsumoto though patiently waited for them to speak, it was a huge thing she knew. But considering the boy's spiritual energy reserves, he would be prone to attacks by dangerous hollows, and he should know about them or atleast how to control his reiryoku.

Just when she was about to speak, the denreishinki began to beep drawing the attention of two other occupants.

Naruto and Shiroi watched in fascination as Rangiku took out a strange device before her eyes widened upon checking it or something.

_'It's a hollow! It's location though...,'_ her thoughts trailed as she suddenly opened the window behind her. Jerking her head out, her eyes widened to considerable proportions when she saw a black rip, specifically a garganta open in the sky above Naruto's apartment.

Getting back inside, she ignored the confused looks of Naruto and Shiroi and activated the GPS on denreishinki.

_'There are no other pluses except the one in front of me within a mile radius from here. How did a hollow even come here, they shouldn't know the way to this dimension from Hueco Mundo. I myself ended up here accidently. I sense no other spiritual energy sources in this town which could quench a hollow's thirst. Then could it be that...,'_ her eyes widened in realisation as she stared at Naruto and Shiroi.

Naruto's and Shiroi's breathing though suddenly hitched in their throats when they heard a scream, a howl...they didn't know. But they could practically feel the negative emotions; anguish, pain in the voice.

"What's this?," Shiroi asked as she looked above where the scream seem to be coming from.

_'I have to take them away from such a densely populated area. There I can take care of it,' _Rangiku thought to herself before she suddenly appeared in a blur in front of the duo.

"Hey!," Naruto exclaimed when Rangiku effortlessly lifted him to sling him over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?," Shiroi asked with an embarrassed blush when she found herself on the shinigami's other shoulder.

Without responding, Matsumoto used shunpo to exit his apartment while the hollow now had completely emerged out of the garganta.

**Outer Forests of Konoha: Quater Mile Away: A Minute Later**

_'This far should be fine,'_ Rangiku thought as she skidded to a halt in a large clearing of the forest.

"What's up with you?," Naruto half yelled, half asked as he found himself shivering in the chilling cold, this time not even wearing his black jacket.

Setting both of them down gently, Matsumoto glared at him while emitting some of her reiryoku again to shut him up.

"Quiet Naruto. You're town would've been in danger had I not dragged you here," the blonde shinigami spoke sternly as she turned to face the direction from where she had come.

"What's a town Rangiku-san? The place we came from is called Konohagakure No Sato," Shiroi elaborated making the shinigami faulter a bit.

"Eh, a village?," she asked with surprise written all over her face.

_'Is this some kind of medieval period going on this world?,'_ she thought before shrugging. Oh well, it didn't mater. So far, she found the place to be quite beautiful and peaceful.

"I'll go ahead and think that you don't know what a village is," Naruto spoke non-chalantly making Shiroi giggle a bit while Matsumoto stared at him with amusement, a soft smile on her face.

_'He acts far more mature than he looks. Though he has his childish moments, I can't help but compare him to Hitsugaya-taicho. And add to the fact that I have never come across a pair of such vibrant shade of blue eyes, and the spiky blonde & whisker marks only accentuate his features,'_ she mused before turning her head back when the ground they were standing on itself began to shake.

"It's near. Naruto, take Shiroi-san and get away from me," Rangiku said making the duo look at her in confusion.

"What is-,"

"Please trust me Naruto," she turned her head to smile at him, her eyes honest while Naruto blushed a bit as he gazed at her beautiful features before he nodded.

Taking Shiroi's hand, he pulled her with him to run towards a large tree while Rangiku took out her sword, a deep sigh escaping her lips.

_'I hope this hollow is not strong. Though considering that it tore it's way through the Hueco Mundo to this unknown dimension like this, it must be strong. It must've detected the reiryoku Naruto was releasing. And with the limiter sealing off eighty percent of my reiryoku, I can't use shikai...but I should be able to handle it. Without further orders from Seireitei, I can't release the limiter. Who knows those old geezers at Central 46 might find out about this and arrest me or something,'_ she thought while pulling out her zanpakutou from the sheath, the shaking now getting more violent.

Naruto and Shiroi though could again hear that howl like painful scream.

_'What is going on here? Why can't my life be peaceful for once,' _he thought as the duo were standing behind the tree, sneakily looking around it.

"Naruto, what's happening?," asked Shiroi, her eyes were wide while her hands were trembling.

Grasping her shaking hand gently, he squeezed it making the attractive woman look at him.

"Don't worry Shiroi-chan. I'm just as shaken in this as you are. We'll sort this out together, and I wouldn't let anything happen to you," he spoke in a determined tone while she smiled a bit hesitantly at him as she squeezed his hand back.

His eyes widened a bit when he felt that pressure again, though it was less this time, maybe because they were at some distance away from the shinigami.

Focusing back, he turned his head back when his whole world froze in shock, a look of horror on his face as he stared at the...creature in front of Rangiku.

_'Wh-What is that thing? Is it some kind of summon? ,' _the whiskered blonde wondered in astonishment as the saw the giant hollow, it's size almost four times as that of Matsumoto. It had a large white mask on it's face, four limbs in addition of eight extra large tentacles sprouting from it's back.

"**Aahhh, I can practically taste that delicious reiryoku in air. Though it's not coming from you shinigami,"** the hollow said with a demonic like voice while Rangiku gripped Haineko tighter.

_'Damn, it's an evolved hollow. He would not be easy to deal with in my current situation,'_ she thought before shunpo'ing in front of his mask to finish this one blow, Haineko reared back as she plunged her zanpakutou forwards at blurry speeds.

CLANG!

_'He blocked it! Such speed! This is definitely not a normal one,'_ Rangiku thought with wide eyes, as prior to it's huge size, the creature had moved it's clawed limb at surprising speeds to block her zanpakutou.

Raising her spiritual energy, Haineko began to pierce it's claw making the hollow howl in pain.

WHAM!

"Rangiku-san!," Naruto yelled involuntarily as he saw her get hit by one it's tentacles, making her fly back as she skidded to a halt just besides the tree Naruto and Shiroi were standing behind.

"Stay here Shiroi-chan!," he exclaimed before dashing from behind the tree towards the shinigami.

"Are you alright?," Naruto asked while Rangiku stood up slowly, holding her gut where the tentacle had slammed into.

"Get back Naruto!," she hissed angrily while suddenly standing in front of him.

"**I'll kill you for that shinigami! And the next is you brat!," **Naruto watched with wide eyes, their forms now shadowed as the hollow was now standing in front of them.

"**RAWRRR!**," it roared before it's large clawed hand lunged towards them.

CLANG!

"G-Get back Naruto," Rangiku said through gritted teeth as Haineko grinded against the large claw.

_'I'm already using the twenty percent reiryoku here. All of my abilities are severely limited. A hollow this strong is very rare in the other human world,' _she thought as she was now on her knees while Naruto took some stumbling steps back, his eyes widened in horror as he clenched his fists.

"N-No! I can't leave you here! You'll die!," he yelled, his voice stuttering a bit as bit his thumb.

_'C'mon Naruto! You can't stand like a coward! She's among the very few persons who have treated me nicely, and she's fighting to save me and Shiroi-chan! I can't run like a pussy!,'_ he thought as he quickly took out a kunai, an extra one he always kept for defence.

"Run Naruto!," Rangiku yelled, beads of sweat pouring down her face. She was already tired due to using her reiryoku in escaping from dangai.

"Naruto-kun no!," Shiroi yelled from behind the tree, drawing the attention of hollow while Naruto dashed towards Rangiku who was now on her knees.

The female shinigami's eyes widened though when the blonde jumped over her.

SQUELCH!

"**RAWWWRRRRRR!**," the hollow screamed in pain when Naruto had pierced the flesh of it's arm with the kunai.

_'This kid...,'_ Rangiku thought in amazement as she had quickly grabbed Naruto and jumped back.

BONK!

"OW!"

"What did I tell you about running away?," Rangiku asked with a glare, who strangely was panting a bit while he was holding his head, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Quite a colourful way to say thank you woman," he grumbled making her blush in embarrassment when suddenly she fell to her knees as she held her stomach where the hollow's tentacle had hit her, piercing her flesh a bit.

_'It must be a special ability of this hollow. I can feel my mid region going numb,'_ she thought.

"Rangiku-san, what happened? Are you alright?," he asked frantically as he patted her back gently.

_'I'm getting low on reiryoku. Naruto has plenty of it but a human can't harness spiritual energy properly in physical form. What if I?,'_ she thought, her eyes narrowed as she considered her options.

They suddenly snapped their heads when they heard a feminine scream.

"SHIROI-CHAN!," Naruto yelled with wide eyes while the hollow was holding the white haired woman in it's remaining large hand.

**"You dare cut me you little brat! I'm gonna devour you all, starting with this one!," **it stated with a booming voice, his tone angry while Rangiku's eyes widened when she sensed it's spiritual energy increasing.

"Shit!," Naruto exclaimed as he prepared to run to her aid.

"Wait Naruto!," she grabbed his hand, stopping him as he looked back at her angrily.

"I have to save her!," he growled making her eyes narrow.

"And you'll just get killed if you engage that hollow right now," she spoke sternly.

"Well, what choice do we have then?," he exclaimed as he looked back at the hollow who was about to devour Shiroi.

"**Hado no Sanjuichi: Shakkahō! **(Way of Destruction 31: Red Fire Cannon)," Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the shinigami release a red type of ball of energy from the palm of her hand which slammed onto the hollow's other arm. It howled in pain as he dropped Shiroi to the ground.

"What the he-," he was suddenly pulled by his shirt to face the dire serious expression of Rangiku.

"Now listen carefully here Uzumaki Naruto. I'm going to transfer some of my shinigami powers to you. It will be temporary and with your abundance of spiritual energy, you should be able to take it down. Do you agree?," she spoke while he gulped audibly before a look of determination replaced his nervous expression. Looking back to see Shiroi laying on the ground unconscious, his eyes became fierce as he turned his head back.

"Do it!," he spoke seriously, and besides it was only temporarily.

Releasing him, she stood up before pointing her zanpakutou at his chest making his eyes widened.

"What are you doing?," he asked in horror and nervousnes sas he stumbled back a bit.

"This is the only way!," she almost yelled making him freeze, before he snapped his head at her.

"Then hurry up and get this over with!," he said, a bit of desperation in his voice as he again gazed back at the laying form of Shiroi while the smoke from the blast was covering the hollow's form.

"Aagh!," his head turned back, Naruto suddenly screamed in pain when he felt his chest being pierced. Looking back, he found her katana, which now was glowing white due to Rangiku's reiryoku being channeled through it, completely piercing through his body. Strangely though, he didn't see any of his blood.

"Matsumoto Rangiku," he heard her voice. Lifting his head, he saw her smiling softly at him while Haineko continued to glow brighter and brighter with each second.

As if his mouth opening on it's own, he muttered...

"Uzumaki Naruto," the white glow now beginning to cover their forms.

**BOOM!**

A ground shattering explosion of white light shook the cores of the forest, wild gusts of wind making the trees rustle violently while the hollow stared in surprise, the smoke now cleared as his eight tentacles waved behind him.

"**W-What is this reatsu? It's huge!**," it exclaimed as the resident of Hueco Mundo could feel the enormous pressure in the air. Increasing it's own reatsu to the fullest, the burden it was feeling was released a bit, but the pressure was still affecting it.

The white glowing light though quickly died down for the hollow to see the silhouette of two figures through the dust screen that had been induced around them. The strange thing was that both looked to be adults, the kid was no where to be found.

"What happened to me?," the hollow heard a matured baritone voice from the smoke as opposed to the high pitched voice of a child it was hearing before.

"Did the world suddenly become small?," again same voice came from the smoke, which now sounded confused.

A soft breeze, which had been typical of these winter nights, blew across the area to clear the smoke.

The obstruction completely gone now, we could see Rangiku standing in a completely plain white garb, her eyes were as wide as they could get as she gazed at the form in front of her.

In front of her, there was a tall young man reaching to the hieght of almost six foot, taller than her. He had wild spiky blonde hair reaching to his oceanic blue eyes, three whisker marks on each of his cheek. He was wearing a typical black shinigami garb with a violet sash around his waist.

"N-Naruto?," Matsumoto asked with a stutter, shock practically dripping from every syllable while she had an expression of extreme disbelief written all over her face. He was also casually holding a huge zanpakutou, it's size that of a zanbato, over his shoulder while it's sheath was tied to his back.

_'This, feels amazing,'_ the blonde haired figure thought as he clenched his other hand into a fist. The shinigami though looked to be quite young, like he was in his late teens.

"Naruto, i-is that you?," she again asked, not having an idea of what was going on.

Turning his head back, she saw his face as a blush lit her cheeks upon gazing at his handsome face while he had a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, Uzumaki Naruto. Who's the kid now...Rangiku-san?"

**Annnd CUT! Um...did you guys like it? I really hope so.**

**And I'm sure there will be MANY questions looming in your head. Ex-What's with Naruto's chakra? Why does he have a high amount of spiritual energy? Who was performing the soul burials in the ninja world before Rangiku? Why does he look like an adult in shinigami form? (The biggest question I think) :)**

**And many other questions which would be coming to you. Be patient, EVERYTHING will be explained in the upcoming chapters, and I do mean everything. **

**So please review readers, I need to know your views on this. They really inspire me to write more and update faster as I already have another main fic 'Chronicles Of My Shinobi's Way' to update. **

**I really hope I was able to capture your interest, would be updating this soon. You would be surprised what this fic has in store for you, so keep reading and review! So until the next update, take care! Ja ne! ^_^**

**N6023**


	2. Afterlife is So Confusing! Brain Busted!

**Wow! So many reviews, favourites and alerts in the first chapter, I'm stunned O.o **

**But I really appreciate that so many people gave my story a try, and I wanna thank all the reviewers and those people who pm'ed me for ideas. ^_^**

**There's one thing that I want to make clear, which is that Naruto can't get Zangetsu, Hyorinmaru, Senbonzakura or any other existing zanpakutou. That's mainly because their respective owners will have since I am merging all the worlds in this fic, so Zangetsu will remain with Ichigo. Besides, no two shinigami can possess the same zanpakutou spirit at the same time according to an ancient law at soul society. Also the harem will be of older women which I'll reveal after some more chapters, so no Hinata, Sakura or anyone young you might be wondering. Naruto will have an OC zanpakutou, though now I'm leaning towards a lightning type one. :)**

**I have several other things to say, but I think you should read the chapter first. So here goes-**

**Chapter-2-Afterlife is Soooo Confusing! Brain Busted!**

'_This feels amazing!,' the blonde haired figured thought as he clenched his other hand into a fist. The shinigami though looked to be quite young, like he was in his late teens._

"N-Naruto? I-Is that you?" Matsumoto again asked, not having an idea of what was going on. Turning his head back, she saw his face as ablush lit her cheeks upon gazing at his handsome face while he had a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, Uzumaki Naruto. Who's the kid now…..Rangiku-san?", he spoke, a grin threatening to split his face as her blush grew darker in embarrassment.His amused expression turned serious though when he noticed a body laying besides Matsumoto; his body to be exact.

'_I guess I died temporarily,'_, he thought, strangely not feeling as freaked out as a normal human or whatever would feel while gazing at his dead body.

Rangiku though, was completely speechless. Of all the combined terror caused by Hueco Mundo and Hell, she couldn't fathom the fact how the blonde kid wearing an orange jumpsuit transformed into a plain hot shinigami.

"Hmm….these clothes are extremely comfortable," Naruto muttered to himself while rubbing his hand over the fabric as he checked the shinigami uniform.

"**Who are you? And where's that kid?**," the tentacle hollow said in a booming voice making Naruto raise his eyebrows while Rangiku was shocked into silence.

"That kid is Uzumaki Naruto, who is standing right in front of you. And he's going to become hokage someday, remember that!," Naruto spoke as he lifted Haineko to point it at the creature in front of him, his eyes fierce while the hollow took a step forward.

"**Never mind. The only thing that matters to me is that your reiryoku tastes really delicious, I'll be sure to devour you!**," it growled making the blonde narrow his eyes. Clenching the zanpakutou tighter, he glanced at Shiroi before muttering.

"Let's finish this."

Digging his left foot a bit into the hard soil, he dashed towards the hollow inducing some dust where he was standing while Matsumoto's eyes widened further.

'_His speed! How can he be so fast?,' _she thought while the hollow too was shaken now, considering that he couldn't even see the blonde.

"**W-Where are you? Show yourself shinigami!**," the hollow yelled in rage as it turned it's masked head repeatedly to find him.

"Up here you weirdo."

It turned completely in surprise to find Naruto standing on a branch of the tree behind it, and what was more astonishing was that he had Shiroi resting on his left shoulder .

"**H-How? How did you get behind me so fast? Did you use Shunpo?**"

'_No….it wasn't a shunpo. It was pure speed!,'_ Matsumoto thought with an expression of utter unbelief on her face. How could he possess such speed? He couldn't have possibly trained his spiritual form!

"Eh? What the hell is a shunpo?," Naruto asked with a tilted face while hollow growled in anger, feeling as if the shinigami was mocking him.

"**rrrRRRWWAWWAARR!**," it gave a cry of rage before jumping towards Naruto, rearing his clawed limb while the fresh blonde shinigami smirked.

'_Too slow, even chunins are faster than you. C'mon! I daily outrun those Anbu and jounins,' _ he thought before easily jumping over the hollow as it destroyed the branch he was standing on.

SQUELCH!

"**RWAAARRRRRR!**," it again roared, but this time in pain due to Naruto slicing several of his tentacles in his midflip.

"Take care of her Rangiku-san," the blonde said as he gave Shiroi to the tenth division vice captain, who currently could only nod dumbly while staring at him.

"Something wrong?," he asked before turning towards the hollow, a light blush lighting his cheeks. Well you do tend to get nervous when being stared at by a beautiful woman like her.

"N-Nothing," she stammered before realizing something," y-you have to slice it's mask."

"Got it," he spoke with a nod before remembering something she did earlier making him grin.

"I'll teach you how to aim properly. Look here!," he said enthusiastically making Rangiku tilt her head in confusion while the hollow continued to howl in pain, all the while cursing the newly formed shinigami.

Pointing the left hand forwards, his palm facing the hollow, he spoke with a smirk….

"**Fuckudo no Sanjuichi: Suckkaho!**," he exclaimed.

…..

…..

…..

Silence, pure pin drop silence. Even the hollow had stopped screaming after hearing that. A breeze flew across the forest, blowing their hair and clothes while Naruto just blinked, his expression that of confusion.

"Huh? Why didn't that awesome red ball come out of my hand? I swear Rangiku-san did the same thing," the blonde pondered to himself while Matsumoto had her mouth open like a fish. A furious blush formed on her face when she realized what he had just said, she may be open in front of other people, but c'mon….not this much.

"Hey Rangiku-san, why didn't it wo-"

BONK!

"YOU BAKA!," she yelled uncharacteristically after hitting him over the head making him fall face first on the ground.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?," the tall Naruto asked angrily as he jumped to his feet comically while she had a blush on her face.

"That was not how it's supposed to be done. It's not that simple!," she exclaimed while rubbing her temples, trying to get rid of her embarrassment. This was so not her! How could a kid….well, technically he is a kid. Well could a kid like him embarrass her?

"What? But that's the same thing you said and boom! You fired a red ball, didn't you?," Naruto asked innocently making her blush again as she pondered on what he had said.

"No! It's not that simple! You have to use your spiritual energy! And I said 'Way of Destruction 31: Red Fire Cannon', while you said 'Way of F-Fucking 31-'…oh kami," she groaned while his mouth opened in an 'o' in realization, a blush forming on his face too.

"o-oh, OH!" he exclaimed with a furious blush before quickly turning around, his face resembling a tomato right now before it slowly turned serious.

"Time to finish this," he muttered while the hollow came back to his senses. It would seem he too was somehow affected by Naruto's personal incantation, though not the way the blonde wanted it to be.

Again dashing towards it, Naruto easily dodged its claw swipes and and tentacles before….

CRUNCH!

Haineko pierced through its mask, making the hollow scream in pain as its body began to glow. Naruto landed on the ground before shielding his eyes as the hollow dispersed into a bright flash of light.

"Well, that was simple," he mumbled to himself before putting the huge zanpakutou back in its sheath. Walking back, he stopped in front of Rangiku, gazing at his body before glancing at Shiroi.

"What now? What has happened to me?" he asked before turning his head towards her.

"I'll explain everything Naruto, first get back in your body. You're still releasing way too much reiryoku," she spoke making him nod as he went with his instinct and just went back into his body.

"Ugh….," there it was again, the young voice of a twelve year old. Opening his eyes groggily, the first thing he noticed was how beautiful the moon looked today, the second thing he noticed how beautiful the blonde woman sitting beside him was, third thing he noticed was how beautiful the white haired woman was whose head was currently laying on Rangiku's lap, but the fourth which he noticed and didn't found beautiful was that he was freezing like an iceberg!

"GYAH!," he exclaimed before jumping to his feet quickly, his arms wrapped around his chest while his whole body seemed to be trembling.

"C-C-Cooold-d-d…." the whiskered blonde stuttered, goose bumps on his skin as he tried to get some warmth somehow. His eyebrows though twitched when he heard Matsumoto giggling.

"I-I-IT'S Y-YOUR-R F-FAULT!," he exclaimed while pointing his index finger at her, making her giggle louder as he just settled for glaring at her, he couldn't even yell properly right now. He had to admit though, her voice and laughter was melody to his ears…but not as melodious as to make him ignore his chilling body.

"H-Hey, it's not my fault! You were the one who left his body out here in the cold," she spoke while suppressing her laughter.

'_Damn you are funny Naruto! Don't know though if you do so deliberately, or is it just your antics,'_ she mused, not able to control her laughter at seeing that cute irritated expression on his face as he continued to tremble.

"O-Okay! I'm sorry!," she exclaimed , her hands in front of her in a defensive manner while she was biting her lower lip to control herself. Laying Shiroi's head gently on the grass, she stood before walking towards him.

Seeing her coming, Naruto started to grow uncomfortable as he squirmed in his position a bit. But considering the cold, he didn't felt like moving from the place.

'_Oh man, why is she looking at me like that? I don't like that look,'_ he thought while staring into her shining blue eyes.

"Oh come here," she spoke with a smirk before taking him in a tight hug, his face pressed into the valley of heavens.

"Oh my, you are cold," she spoke innocently while he tried to push her away, a furious blush on his face as heat rushed to his cheeks.

"Does it feel any better now? Hmm…naughty boy?," she asked with a teasing smile when he finally pushed himself off her.

"D-Don't m-mess w-w-with me l-lady!," he spoke with a red face making her giggle again. Naruto had to admit though, it did work.

'_Not to mention she smells extremely good,'_ he thought with a blush before shaking his head, for some reason his body was automatically getting warmer by each passing second, at least to tolerable levels.

Rangiku's face though suddenly turned serious when she turned her head towards where Konoha was, her body getting stiff as she took out her deirinshinki.

'_I sense two spiritual signatures coming towards us,' _she thought before switching on the device. Activating the GPS, her eyes did widen upon looking at the map.

'_They are shinigami!'_ she thought in surprise. Could it be that Seireitei knew of this dimension all along then? Where else would the shinigami come from?

'_Or could they be the exiled ones who accidently ended up here just like me?'_

"Hey, what's wrong?," Naruto asked with a confused expression as he continued to tremble due to the cold.

"Stay on alert Naruto. There are two shinigami coming this way," she spoke with a grim expression.

"But, why would a shinigami harm another shinigami? Aren' t they your friends?," he again asked making her shake her head when two blurry figures landed in front of them.

"Here they are," Matsumoto spoke, a serious expression on her face while Naruto too turned serious, though his world froze when he saw who the two supposed shinigami were.

"I-It can't be….," he muttered to himself, his expression that of immeasurable shock as he kept staring at the two figures.

"Naruto, you know them?," the vice captain asked with a surprised expression while he just kept staring at the two figures who were now walking towards them.

"Don't worry, we aren't your enemies. Isn't that right….Naruto-kun?," asked a smiling black haired female, making his eyes widen further.

"Guess that hollow's taken care of already," a man walking besides the female spoke, who looked to quite old.

"A-A-Ayame-chan….T-Teuchi," he stuttered as he gazed at the two ramen stand owners, standing in front of him, wearing those shinigami garbs.

"Naruto, you really know these shinigami?," asked Matsumoto with a confused expression as the duo stopped in front of them. That seemed to snap him out of his shock, shinigami? When were the two Ichirakus shinigami?

Walking forward, Ayame crouched just in front of him before taking him in a gentle hug, a smile on her face while he blinked owlishly.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun? That hollow came to attack you after all," she spoke softly before releasing him from the hug, a very light blush on her face.

'_Wow, how many beautiful women am I gonna meet today?,'_ he thought subconsciously as he returned a weak smile. So much was happening today, it was like his whole world had been turned upside down. He had so many questions waiting to burst forth his mouth, but he knew that the more he thought about it, the more he would get impatient and crazy just thinking about them. Ignorance was bliss, and currently he tended to follow that until he got some answers.

"H-Hai," he stuttered back, as if in trance while Rangiku too was confused about this.

"It seems you're hurt….miss. Ah, so you're the vice captain of the tenth division of the Gotie in Seireitei," Teuchi spoke with a smile while noticing her lieutenant batch in his mid speech.

'_It is though strange that I can't feel any reiatsu from her, not even a little bit. She can't be suppressing all of it. Add to the fact that she's wearing a plain white kimono, no zanpakutou….while on the other hand, I had sensed Naruto's reiryoku sky rocket a several minutes ago,'_ he thought with a grim expression before his eyes suddenly widened, as if in realization making Teuchi snap his head towards the blonde.

"I'm fine….it's just a little injury, nothing to be worried about," Matsumoto spoke with a smile.

"Ayame"

"Hai, tou-san," she replied before walking to Rangiku.

"Please stay still, this will only take a second," Ayame spoke with a friendly smile as she put her hand just over her injured rib region. Green spiritual energy gradually completely covered her hand as Ayame began to heal her wounds.

'_So she's a healer,'_ Rangiku thought as she watched the black haired female shinigami use healing kido on her. Naruto stared in unbelief as Ayame healed her wounds within seconds.

"There, all done."

"Arigatou"

"No problem, my name is Ichiraku Ayame. And this is my father, Ichiraku Teuchi," she introduced herself and her father while Naruto absent mindedly stared at both of their zanpankutou which was tied around their waist.

"Pleased to meet you Ayame-san, Teuchi-san. My name is Matsumoto Rangiku," she formally introduced herself while bowing making the ramen chef laugh, easing the tense atmosphere between them.

"No need to be formal Rangiku-san. First let's get back to the village, I'm sure we have lots of things to talk about," he spoke when they heard Naruto's quiet, but strained voice.

"O-Oji-san, w-what's going on?," the whiskered blonde asked making the old man's expression soften. He understood Naruto's plight, he was a twelve year old whose life was already complicated enough when this had happened. It would be exhausting and crazy, it was too much for him to bear. But it would seem that fate had decided that now the time had come, it was time for the young jinchuriki to know everything.

"I know what you're going through Naruto-kun. Stay calm," Ayame spoke softly after kneeling in front of him with a smile. He couldn't help but admire her open long brown hair, which were usually covered by the bright bandana she often wore during her work hours. The black shinigami garb seemed to be accentuating her figure and fair skin too. Overall, gazing at her face did calm him down while her hand grazed his cheek slightly making him blush a bit.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun. Everything will be alright," she spoke soothingly again, making all his worries slip as he nodded slowly while Rangiku and Teuchi had smiles on their faces as they watched the teenage girl comfort the boy.

Her hand slowly moved to his forehead, brushing his bangs aside when her hand again started to glow green making his eyes close before he slumped against her.

**Timeskip: Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment: 30 Minutes Later**

He could faintly hear several people talking, he could faintly feel someone caressing his forehead….and strangely, felt warm as opposed to the chilling cold he was feeling before.

"Hey, he's waking up!" he heard a feminine voice just above him, oh….so his head was in someone's lap, recognizing the voice Shiroi to be exact. Opening his eyes slowly, silence ensuing around him, he could practically feel those present staring at him like he was a dead mummy being reincarnated.

"Oi kid, you alright?" adjusting his vision to the brightness, his eyes fluttered a few times when he heard giggling around him.

The first thing he saw was Shiroi's beautiful face, she was smiling at him making him smile back. Slowly sitting up, he noticed that he was laying on a couch with the silver haired female sitting on it. Noticing his surroundings, he could tell that this was the Ichiraku's apartment, which was connected to the back of their ramen stand.

Finally he caught Teuchi and Rangiku sitting on a table, both of them staring at him while he could hear someone humming in the kitchen which was situated further away from the dining table. They continued to stare at him, as if waiting for something he would say while he too stared at them and finally opened his mouth.

"I want some ramen," followed by a growl making Teuchi's face fall flat on the table while Rangiku just blinked before bursting into giggles making him pout. His eyes though widened when he felt Shiroi's hand on his shoulder, her hands shaking due to her fits of laughter.

"Shiroi-chan! Are you alright?" he suddenly turned to grab her shoulder, a worried expression on his face.

"Of course," she spoke with a smile, a light blush on her face while she found herself touched by his concern.

"Thank kami!" he exclaimed in relief before jumping off the couch to walk towards the dining table.

"Good morning sleepyhead! Your ramen will be ready shortly," he turned his head to see Ayame back in her usual clothes. She was smiling brightly at him as he grinned back at her.

"Good morning Ayame-chan!," he greeted before his eyes widened as if he came to a realization.

"Oh hell! What time is it? Am I late for the academy? I swear Iruka-sensei's gonna give it to me this time!," he started to panic as he stretched his blonde locks in frustration when he again heard everyone laugh, Rangiku though was laughing for different reasons. She didn't know what an academy was, or who this Iruka was….but the way he was fretting was cute and funny.

"Hey stop laughing! He's really gonna sue me this time!," the blonde yelled comically when Ayame spoke.

"Look out the window Naruto-kun, it's still night time. You were only unconscious for about half an hour," making him sigh in relief as he held his heart dramatically.

"Finally saved. Thanks Ayame-chan, you're a life saver," he spoke making them further burst out laughing while he had a cheeky smile on his face himself which Rangiku had noticed.

'_So, you enjoy making people laugh, eh Naruto?,'_ she thought with a smile while Ayame's laughter too subsided as she smiled at him fondly.

"Alright Naruto, take a seat. This is gonna be a long night, it would be better anyway if you skipped the academy tomorrow," Teuchi spoke seriously making the blonde nod as he took a seat.

"Naruto, I know you have many questions right now. But it would be better if you just listen what we explain to you," the ramen chef spoke before he nodded towards Rangiku who nodded back.

"Um…before we start, is there any sake here?," she asked cheerfully making everyone blink.

"Hey! You can't drink while I'm here, have some manners," Naruto said making her pout at him before she huffed at him.

"Don't worry Rangiku-san, I'm sure we can arrange something later. But let's first finish the important things, ne?," the old man spoke with a chuckle making her nod enthusiastically while Ayame and Shiroi sweat dropped.

'_She's just the same with sake as Naruto's with ramen.'_

For the next half an hour, the tenth division vice captain explained about the shinigami, hollows, pluses and other things. She didn't go into detail, but just even outlining the basics took time seeing as Naruto didn't held himself back one bit in asking questions.

"Oh! So you mean to say that basically, you guys….," he trailed before pointing at Rangiku, Teuchi and Ayame, "….were once just simple ghosts like Shiroi-chan there. Then because of high spiritual energy, you entered the academy for training in the arts of shinigami just like we enter a ninja academy. And then, you come into our world, through this weird gate called Senkaimon and perform soul burials on ghosts such as Shiroi-chan, making them enter either heaven, soul society as you call it or hell depending on their deeds. Aside from that, you fight these masked creatures called hollows which are formed through different ways or enter the human world via Garganta which is basically a kind of a pitch black rip in midair, but are basically the evil forms of normal souls. Am I right so far?."

All of them stared at him dumbfounded, and they could only nod dumbly as he continued further.

"And let's come to this heaven called Soul Society, it's divided into two parts; the Rukongai and Seireitei. Rukongai consists of normal souls you guys call Ryoka and generally don't feel any hunger. However, there are some who feel hungry as they have large amounts of spiritual energy and unconsciously use it and that's where shinigami come from. And there's this Seireitei, which is the military section of soul society. It's divided into thirteen different squads, each squad having a captain and a vice captain. The head of all these captains is called the captain commander who is in charge of the first squad and is the strongest being in soul society just like our Hokage. Also, there's this head body called Central 46 which has jurisdiction over the thirteen squads and handles soul society's daily matters. Amen!" he finished with a deep breath while clapping his hands dramatically.

"So, how was that?" he asked with a grin.

…..

…..

…..

"Um…guys? Did I say something wrong?" he questioned with a confused expression while silence had filled the apartment.

"T-That's what we are wondering? How could you not say something wrong?" Teuchi said with a stunned expression.

'_Wow, he's a genius or something to retain all that after I had told him only once,'_ Rangiku thought while Ayame, Teuchi and Shiroi had other reasons to be stunned. Where did their blonde knucklehead go? However, he was playing the unpredictable part flawlessly here.

"Yes, you are right Naruto. That's how basically things work, though there are many things that are left to be explained….but that would be enough for today," Matsumoto spoke with a smile making him grin back proudly.

"Surprised Oji-san?" Naruto asked with a smirk while Teuchi regained his composure whereas Shiroi walked towards them to sit on the fourth chair of the table.

"Nope, not that much. I knew you always hid things, knew that there was something under that goofy grin of yours kid," the old man said after gaining his composure.

"That's how I am, goofy…but ain't your predictable idiot. Guess, one of my parents must be like this, or it could be that I'm the mixture of both. Either way, both of them must have been great persons! I just know it!," he spoke with an eye closed grin making Teuchi's smile sadden along with Shiroi and Ayame's expression.

"What do mean 'have been' Naruto? Where are your parents?," Rangiku asked with a confused expression on her face while Teuchi cursed inwardly for not warning her before.

"Ah, don't know….probably in soul society," he said, keeping the closed grin on his face making the blonde shinigami's eyes widen.

Deciding to change the subject, Teuchi spoke when Ayame started to serve the ramen bowls.

"Naruto, there was something that I need to correct for you. I was once a researcher in Seireitei and was exiled for reasons I don't feel discussing now. But Ayame here doesn't belong to soul society. You see, she's my biological daughter and her mother was a living human, instead of a shinigami or ryoka," he explained making Naruto nod as he picked up his chopsticks.

"But, if she's a human, how come she's a shinigami?," the blonde jinchuriki asked with a confused expression as he quietly muttered 'Itadakimasu' along with others (except Shiroi).

"Because of me, she had her own shinigami powers from the beginning and with time they only grew along with her spiritual energy. So I had to teach her to control them. She could see ghosts like you Naruto."

"What? You mean to say that you could see ghosts just like me Ayame-chan?," the blonde asked making the ramen waitress, who was now sitting beside him nod with a smile.

"So does this mean that I have shinigami powers too?"

"That is not necessary Naruto. The chance of a human possessing shinigami powers is very rare. In case of Ayame, her father was a shinigami…so unless one of your parents were a shinigami, it shouldn't be possible. But due to your extremely high amount of spiritual energy, you might have developed one," this time Rangiku spoke making him nod before his eyes widened as he suddenly stopped eating.

"Then, you mean spiritual energy is the basic thing you need as a shinigami just like we shinobi need chakra?," he asked making them nod when Matsumoto spoke with a pout.

"Okay, what is this chakra you ke-"

"So that's why!" Naruto suddenly yelled after abruptly standing from his seat while everyone stared at him. Noticing the silence that suddenly filled the room, he blushed in embarrassment before sitting down quietly.

"What happened Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked with a confused expression while the whiskered blonde had a frown etched on his face.

"It's about my problem. Chakra is a type of energy, that we shinobi form by combining our physical and spiritual energy in balanced amounts. But since, as stated by Rangiku-san, I've a high amount of spiritual energy, the chakra I form is unstable due to higher amount of spiritual energy in it as compared to the physical part," he spoke with his frown getting deeper while Teuchi had a smirk on his face.

"What are you talking about? Is that even possible? You mean to say that you combine these basic forms of energy to convert into another form?" the shinigami vice captain asked flabbergasted. What they were telling was….well, something unheard of.

"Yeah, and it's pretty simple. Look, here's an example," Naruto spoke before he walked a bit away from the table. Holding his hand in a ram seal, his face scrunched up in extreme concentration as a faint blue aura now surrounded his body.

Matsumoto's eyes widened when she felt his reiatsu increasing as he increased his chakra levels.

'_How can he increase his reatsu and reiryoku in a human body. It is extremely difficult to do so and in the other human world, people aren't capable of such feats. But this blue aura he's releasing, it's not reiryoku, it's something else. He's releasing two types of energy at the same time!,'_ she thought with an astonished expression before Naruto exclaimed.

"**Henge**** no Jutsu!**"

POOF!

Teuchi, Ayame and Shiroi watched Rangiku's face with an amused expression as they waited for the smoke to clear.

"Whoa!," the vice captain almost fell off her chair when she found herself gazing at….well herself.

"How did you do that?," she asked with what looked to be a mixture of horrified and stunned expression.

"Meh, it was nothing. This is one of the most basic techniques we are taught at the academy, and still I have much difficulty in doing so," Naruto spoke with a bitter tone as he released the technique.

"Have you ever wondered why you get hungry so much Naruto-kun?," Ayame spoke this time seriously making the blonde shrug.

"It's all because of your reiryoku. Since you have higher spiritual energy, your body's natural defence or mechanism, is to make your physical energy equal to spiritual one. But since your spiritual energy has been increasing at an abrupt rate these past few years, your body has been struggling to catch upto it. This phase you can say, is kinda like puberty," she explained making him nod while Matsumoto herself couldn't believe that humans in this world had evolved so much. Their technology may seem backward, but surely this was a huge breakthrough.

"But now that I know what the problem has been, what should I do?" he pondered when Teuchi spoke.

"It's simple. You have to learn to control your reiryoku Naruto, only then will you be able to even use chakra. Following that, you'll have to learn chakra control because of your huge chakra reserves. I know it's tough Naruto, it's really tough….but that's the way it is," Teuchi spoke in a sympathetic tone while Naruto just nodded with a down look.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'll help you in controlling your spiritual energy. But we can temporarily solve this problem," Rangiku spoke with a smile. Somehow, she couldn't stand seeing the boy….or man, being sad like that.

"Really? There's a way to bypass this?"

"No, I'm not saying that you wouldn't have to train in controlling your reiryoku, but there's something called a limiter seal that can solve your problem. Right Teuchi-san?"

"You're correct. A limiter seal would be a perfect solution in general for this, but…," Teuchi trailed as he gazed at Ayame who too had a grim expression on her face.

"But what?," Naruto asked with a confused expression while Ayame sighed softly to herself, a sad expression on her face.

"Let's just say the limiter seal would not work in your case Naruto, and that's that. Believe me, when time comes, you'll know about it," Teuchi said sternly while Rangiku and Naruto were utterly confused, but nevertheless nodded. The old man was a researcher, and if he had some qualms with applying the seal to Naruto, then he must have a valid reason.

"You still have one month before the graduation exams Naruto. I'm sure that under a vice captain's tutelage, you can suppress your reiryoku to the required level so that you can build up stable chakra," Ayame spoke with an encouraging smile while Naruto nodded with a determined expression.

"Now I believe that before we get any further, I should explain to you how things for shinigami work here in this world Rangiku-san," Teuchi spoke with a serious expression making Matsumoto's eyes wide. She had been waiting eagerly to ask him this, what was happening here before she came?

"Yeah, I was wondering about that too. If suppose, you guys take care of Konoha then who takes care of other parts of the world?" Naruto asked as he sat back on the chair and pouted upon noticing that his ramen was now cold. Nevertheless, his principles couldn't allow him to waste such a heavenly gift.

"You see, before I came here in Konoha, there were shinigami of course who took care of performing soul burials and slaying hollows. But the fact is that those shinigami were not from soul society," he said while Rangiku's eyes widened in surprise along with Naruto's and Shiroi's.

"If they were not from soul society, then where…," the vice captain trailed in realization while her face held an expression of impossibility.

"You can't be serious!" she exclaimed while Naruto and Shiroi just blinked.

"Hai, those shinigami came from the spirit king's realm, also called guardians or messengers of the spirit king," Matsumoto was sporting a stunned expression on her face while Naruto and Shiroi were confused.

"Ah, you don't know about spirit king Naruto-kun, Shiroi-san right?," Ayame asked making them nod dumbly.

"The spirit king, or simply the king of all shinigami, is possibly the most powerful existence in all the dimensions and is the one who created Seireitei, and then the Central 46. It lives in the entirely different dimension than that of Soul Society. The place where the key to that dimension is kept, is only known by the current captain commander of the soul society and is passed on verbally to the next one each time. So basically, it is the head of all known shinigami and generally his dimension doesn't interfere in the general duties of the shinigami," she took a deep breath while Naruto and Shiroi nodded in concentration, soaking all the information in.

"But our world you see, is different and special. The spirit king, it seems, gave the other human dimension to the soul society while this dimension is under its direct control. The king's guardians come from that realm to this dimension to perform the rituals of afterlife and slain hollows, though the number of hollows entering this dimension used to be very few."

"Why were they few? In the other world, especially around spiritually enriched areas, they kept popping out after every few hours," Rangiku spoke with a confused expression when Teuchi replied.

"That's because most of the people here in this world use chakra, meaning they combine their physical and spiritual energy and release chakra instead of reiryoku. So there's not much spiritual energy to attract them here. Another reason is that the hollows, which reside in Hueco Mundo, do not know how to create the special garganta you require to enter this dimension. But the extremely strong hollows of the level of Menos Grande or above seem to be able to track this dimension if….if they found enough spiritual energy here which is rare in itself. So you see, hollows getting here was extremely rare and even if they did get here….they would be extremely strong."

"And I've heard in the academy that those guardian shinigami, are extremely strong and that even the weakest of them would be that of a captain's level," Rangiku spoke making Teuchi nod.

"But you said 'were'. Do you mean that now they don't come here?" she asked while Naruto and Shiroi had lost expressions on their faces.

"They come here, but in the past few years, their numbers have been increasing at a steady rate….in proportion with Naruto's spiritual energy here actually. We always managed to slain them before they even made their appearance to Naruto, but today it seems we couldn't make it. Now, the weaker hollows are entering this dimension using that special garganta. It seems they are able to track this dimension due to Naruto's increasing reiryoku, and their appearances are mainly concentrated here in Konoha."

"So, it's because of me that they are coming here and threatening souls like Shiroi-chan too?" Naruto asked with a pained expression when Ayame replied sternly with a frown.

"Don't talk like that Naruto-kun! It's not under your control."

"And besides, even with your increasing reiryoku, it shouldn't be possible for them to use the special garganta so quickly. I bet that there's an external source that's affecting the Hueco Mundo. The hollow that attacked you today, if you had noticed Rangiku-san, that garganta was like dark bluish-black in colour," Teuchi said making her nod as she had seen that from the window of Naruto's apartment.

"And another reason that I forgot to tell you guys about why hollows rarely came in this dimension was because, the spirit king's guardians did their work swiftly and professionally. They didn't interact with the souls like us normal shinigami have the liberty to do, so they perform soul burials as quickly as they can, not giving time for the reiryoku of the souls to increase and in the process attract some hollows," the old man finished making her nod.

"So these guardian shinigami must be strong eh?," Shiroi questioned making the old Ichiraku nod.

"Hai, they are extremely strong, are usually cold and avoid being involved with anyone. They are very strict in following their rules and principles it seems. I did met one, and they are like your typical Anbu who talk very less and keep themselves to their own business. Their uniform consists of the same shinigami garb but a black hood as an extension being the difference. So they work in the shadows, are very fast and always have those hoods covering their faces."

"Then I presume that you're in charge of this town Teuchi-san?" the vice captain shinigami questioned.

"Hai, I've been doing the shinigami duties for a long time. The previous one was a shinigami guardian, who after seeing me perform a soul burial one day confronted me. He passed on his duties and returned to the spirit king's realm. And Ayame-chan here has been working with me for a few years now," Teuchi replied with a smile while Naruto could honestly say that he was sitting among some top class weirdo's here.

THUP!

"I'm getting a headache here! What the fuck are we even talking about? Is this even possible? I mean….you were just an old man cooking ramen for me with a chef hat on. And Ayame-chan was a beautiful waitress who always greeted me with a smile! And you mean to say that you two are some monster slaying super heroes?," he yelled after standing from his seat, slamming his hand on the table.

"Oh calm down Naruto. I'm sure you'll forget everything with a cup of sake," Rangiku said with a bright smile making the blonde's eyebrows twitch before he pointed his index finger towards her.

"And let's not just forget about you miss! You're the root of all this! Hadn't you dropped from kami knows where into the bedroom of my apartment, I wouldn't have gotten into this mess and instead would've been dreaming about ramen! And now I'm a shinigami. And if that's not more, I turn into some kind of adult!" there he said, all flushed out. Everybody stared at him quietly as the blonde jinchuriki now regained his breath.

"Y-You mean to say you're a shinigami now Naruto-kun?," Ayame asked in immense surprise while Shiroi had her eyes widened.

"Hehehe, now now Naruto. I'm sure we'll settle this somehow, besides I did said it was temporary. However, the fact that you took all of my powers makes the process longer," Matsumoto said while laughing nervously, rubbing the back of her head while Teuchi sighed deeply.

"So my suspicions were true. You did give your powers to Naruto. But this may be a blessing in disguise of a curse Naruto-kun," he spoke with a smile making the jinchuriki's eyes widened.

"How come?"

"In your shinigami form, you can train better to control your spiritual energy," Rangiku replied with a smirk making him nod when his smile brightened.

"Hey! Since normal humans can't see shinigami, I can just use my shinigami form to whack shinobi's ass whenever I need to. This way I can beat even kage level ninja!" he said enthusiastically.

"No!" Teuchi interrupted his celebrations abruptly with a serious expression making Rangiku and him blink in confusion.

"Why not?"

"That's because they can see us Naruto," the old chef spoke with narrowed eyes making everybody except Ayame freeze on their spots.

"W-What? But Rangiku-san said-"

"She said right. But….our world is different Naruto."

"Teuchi-san, what are you talking about?" Matsumoto asked, having lost all her light mood upon hearing this spine breaking news.

"It's all chakra Rangiku-san. Everybody possesses chakra, and everybody has spiritual and physical energy in equal amounts. Civilians here in this world are like your normal humans you see in the other dimension and just like them, can't see spiritual beings. However, there are people here called shinobi who exceed the limitations of a normal human. They train their physical bodies to gain physical energy and increase their spiritual energy through meditation, studying and experience, thus in turn increasing their overall chakra reserves."

"But how does this explain things here?" Naruto asked while Teuchi's eyebrows twitched in irritation.

"I was getting to that Naruto. Well anyway, as I was saying….to mould chakra for their techniques, they extract physical energy from their body's cells and spiritual energy from the mind's consciousness or what you can call our soul. What I mean to say is that they keep their spiritual energy, which we are concerned about here, compressed along with their physical energy. In this state, they can't see us and are just like any other normal human. But the state in which they build chakra to increase their chakra levels, they increase their spiritual energy levels and in the process pass the limit of a normal human, and are hence able to see us in this state. Civilians and normal humans in the other dimension, do release some spiritual energy involuntarily constantly, even if it's very miniscule…heck, even nature does so. You Naruto, however just release a far too higher reiryoku involuntarily resulting in you always being able to see us. Shinobi have learned to suppress their physical and spiritual energy, meaning their chakra basically and in that state, I repeat that they cannot see spiritual beings. They do this mainly to not give away their positions to chakra sensors and so as to not waste their chakra as well as stamina," he finished only to sweat drop upon gazing at the lost faces of Naruto and Shiroi while Rangiku had understood most part of it, Ayame though, was having a hard time not to burst out laughing at the scene.

"Tou-san, just conclude your explanation in one line and they'll understand, just like you did with me," the ramen waitress spoke while biting her lower lip to control herself.

"In nutshell, when shinobi increase their chakra levels, they'll be able to see us. Also, they can relieve themselves under a heavy reiatsu by increasing their chakra levels since it comprises of spiritual energy. Also-"

"T-That would be enough Tou-san. I think they understand now," Ayame said while pinching her cheek, barely holding herself from laughing as she gazed at Naruto's and Shiroi's face.

"Y-Yes! O-Ofcourse! I now understand dattebayo!," he said while nodding frantically.

"Y-Yeah, we understand Teuchi-san….really!" Shiroi spoke with a forced smile with both of them having one single thought.

'_Well fuck! What did he say anyway?'_

"Then what if these shinobi saw you shinigami or the guardians?" Rangiku asked in exasperation, she really wanted some sake right now.

"That's the reason these guardian shinigami are so quick in their work. So that not many shinobi, if they are fighting and have their chakra levels high, notice them. Even if they do, they including us, just use **Kikanshinki **(Account Replacing Spirit Device). This is used to replace the memories of those who saw us," Ayame spoke this time while Naruto could feel himself on the verge of fainting.

'_This is torture! So many things….I just wanna sleep,'_ he thought while Shiroi too wasn't doing much better.

"Naruto, I want to see your shinigami form," Teuchi spoke with a serious expression while the blonde was just lost in his own thoughts. Let the old man ramble about the afterlife shit, he was tired of this anyway. He had plenty of years to life, and when he dies, then he'll think about all this!

'_I wonder if beef ramen tastes better than miso. Oh I have yet to decide on what will be my prank tomo-'_ his important thoughts were interrupted upon feeling something impact his forehead as he found himself falling back. The last thing he saw was a black glove with a white skull on it before he fell back with the chair.

THUD!

"HEY! Watch it old man!" Ayame's and Shiroi's eyes widened when they heard a baritone voice of Naruto. Rangiku though had that same blush on her face while the other two females could feel heat rushing to their cheeks as they stared at the man before them. Teuchi though had a grim expression on his face as he stared at Naruto.

"What?," the whiskered blonde asked as he found everybody staring at him when Teuchi finally spoke.

"I knew it."

**Yeah, I know it was a lame chapter. But believe me it'll get better. I just have so much to explain and you guys too were itching for some answers. So I hope this chapter quenched most of your questions for now. The rest will be explained in the coming chapters.**

**In the next chapter, Naruto's training will start and what's happening in Soul Society will also be revealed. Also, there may be some things in this fic , or in this chapter you don't feel like accepting or just out right call them plot holes. I tried to introduce as much logic into my concepts and if you failed to understand, or don't agree with it, do pm me so I can discuss with you. The concepts, I tried to explain to the best of my ability, but if you still didn't get something clear, feel free to ask me in a review or just pm me. **

**The facts in this chapter and the next few ones will be the basic foundation for this story, and don't worry, I do have some spine chilling plans for this. (Like- how does winter war in Konoha sounds? The whole shinobi world and Seireitei vs. Madara and his co. and Aizen and his Espada & all :)) It's exciting for me atleast. Oh, Ichigo and his group too play their parts in this fic, meaning they will gain their powers too if you're wondering. So to say, all the Bleach and Naruto events will happen, but will be merged with each other and all.**

**Well, enough of my rant, you'll understand this as you read. Hope this fic has caught your interest for now. Please review though, and I thank all those who read and reviewed the first chapter. Thanks a lot! So take care you guys and wish me good luck with this story. Hope this fic will be a good read for you. So till the next update, ja ne!**

**N6023**


	3. Sweet Training!

**Alright, so first of all...real sorry for the late update but my exams were on the line a week ago. Updates would be much faster now though ^_^**

**And oh, thanks to those guys who have reviewed or pm'ed me to tell me just how much you're looking forward to this fic. **

**Again, special thanks to my friend and beta: ****SweetestSakura-chan**** for beta'ing this quite well.**

**So with nothing else to say, let's march forward! **

**Chapter-3****-Sweet Training!**

THUD!

"HEY! Watch it old man!" Ayame's and Shiroi's eyes widened when they heard a baritone voice of Naruto. Rangiku though had that same blush adorning her face when she saw Naruto's transformed form while the other two females could feel heat rushing to their cheeks as they stared at the man before them. Teuchi though had a grim expression on his face as he stared at Naruto.

"What?," the whiskered blonde asked as he found everybody staring at him when Teuchi finally spoke.

"I knew it."

"Huh? You know?" Naruto asked with a confused expression as he carefully picked up his body. Ayame and Shiroi though had blushes on their faces as they stared at him, their thoughts blank as their minds struggled to come to terms with this jaw breaking sight.

'_Damn, he's gone from a cutie to hottie in just a matter of seconds,'_ Ayame thought, a light shade of pink still present on her face as she stared at his matured facial features. The spiky blonde bangs were reaching his eyebrows while his cerulean blue eyes were more intense, they held more depth to them, it was like staring in the endless sea.

"The fact that you're a shinigami," the old chef spoke making others fall face first on the table while Naruto's eyebrows started twitching in irritation.

"I think we already told you that. What I mean to ask you is why I'm...grown up in this form?" he asked making Teuchi laugh lightly.

"Relax kid...I was only messing with you. Well, according to me...the reason that you look physically grown up in your spiritual form is mainly because of how you were treated," he spoke seriously while blonde narrowed his eyes.

"What are you implying oji-san?" he asked with some coldness seeping through his voice, snapping Ayame and Shiroi out of their trance-like states while Rangiku had a confused expression on her face. What did they mean how he was treated?

"I think you yourself know Naruto, that you're far more mature than anyone from your generation. The way you...lived your childhood, forced you to grow mentally at astounding rates. With your growing spiritual energy, I think that spiritually...you matured too, hence the reason your spiritual form looks matured. I'm not sure that this the exact reason, but those are my thoughts on this. Actually, this shouldn't even be possible in a normal case considering that a spiritual body ages far slower than a physical form. There have to be other external factors which caused this. Strangely though, I already had a hunch that you would look a bit older in this form...but I was not expecting such a difference," Teuchi finished making Naruto sigh as he entered his younger form again.

"Wait, Teuchi-san...what do you mean by how Naruto was treated?" Rangiku asked making Ayame clench her hands into fists while Teuchi could see Naruto visibly stiffen at the question.

Silence reigned over the group as Teuchi struggled to find an answer to this, not wanting to say anything in front of Naruto. But he knew that he had to tell Rangiku everything. Considering that she had just given her powers to a human, she had broken a critical law of society and couldn't return to Seireitei in such a state.

'_All in all, she will be staying here until she gets her powers back, which I think will take quite some time. I'll have to talk with him straightaway as it seems,_' he thought when everybody turned their heads upon hearing the sound of a chair sliding on the floor.

"I...I think that's about how much I can take in today oji-san. I'm going to sleep for now, I...I need some time to sort this out," Naruto said in a stressed voice, giving the old shinigami a forced smile as he was now standing with his hands on the table.

Before Teuchi could've said anything, Ayame replied with a smile.

"Sure Naruto-kun. I understand, and if you have any problem with anything...remember that our door is always open for you," she spoke with a loving smile, making the blonde smile back gratefully.

"Arigatou Ayame-chan. See you later...everyone," he spoke, giving everyone a small smile before leaving the apartment.

Teuchi though had lowered the kido barrier temporarily to let Naruto leave before again activating it.

Matsumoto though just couldn't understand what was going on, but whatever it was, she knew that it was extremely serious. The brief flash of pain that crossed the whiskered blonde's eyes, she hadn't missed that.

"Teuchi-san, what's going on? What's his story?" the vice-captain asked with a serious expression on her face, breaking the tense silence that had coated over the group.

Gazing towards his daughter, getting a nod from her, Teuchi sighed before speaking.

"Sit tight then Rangiku-san, because to explain Naruto's life, I'll have to tell you about this world from the beginning."

"Um Tou-san...why didn't you tell Naruto-kun about the Kyuubi?" Ayame asked with a frown while Shiroi's eyes widened. How could they talk of such a monster so freely?

"Didn't you see his face Ayame-chan? He's struggling to come with terms of what we told him right now. How do you think me now telling him about such a big fact would have impacted him? It's not just something you can tell him so easily, it's a huge burden that the boy had to carry for all his childhood. He has already got a big responsibility on his shoulders considering that he's a shinigami now, just let him get comfortable with this first ne? The seal's still perfectly intact and there's no harm to delay the inevitable a bit this time."

'What is this Kyuubi he's talking about?' the blonde shinigami thought when she realized another thing.

"There's one other thing that I've been wanting to ask you Teuchi-san, why haven't you performed the soul burial on Shiroi-san here yet?" she asked making Shiroi lower her head when Ayame spoke.

"Shiroi-chan here was one of the very few souls who even interacted with Naruto. So we thought of letting her stay a bit longer, she still has a plenty of her chain of fate left," making Matsumoto confuse all the more. What did they mean 'of the few souls' who interacted with Naruto? Didn't he had friends and other relatives to spend his time with?

Seeing her lost expression, Teuchi decided to intervene.

"First let me explain everything Rangiku-san, I'm sure that you'll be able to connect the dots later," he spoke while rubbing his temples.

'This is gonna be a looong night.'

**Time-skip: Konoha: Naruto's Apartment: The Following Morning: 11 AM**

'_Agh! Damn this sun!_' one Naruto Uzumaki cursed as he shifted in his position, turning his face away from the window through which the sun-rays were glaring at him.

Seeing as winter season was going now, usually the weather was cloudy with the sun showing it's face for short amounts of time at random intervals.

His eyes closed for a few minutes now, the blonde begrudgingly finally gave up returning to the land of dreams. Strangely though, he could feel something soft on his chest as he slowly opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling in grogginess for a few seconds.

"Ugh..." he groaned, covering his eyes with his right elbow to block the offending sunlight.

His eyes traveling down, his mind suddenly froze when he saw what was the soft thing on his chest. Okay, it was just someone's arm...nothing to panic about.

His heart beating faster, he turned his head to the right for his eyes to get wide in shock. There just besides him, a few inches away from him was laying...

'_What the...Rangiku-san?_' he thought, years of experience from his hardships preventing him from screaming right then in panic.

Just to the left of him, Matsumoto was snoring slightly, her blonde locks sprawled over her face while she had her right arm slung over his chest. Both of them were laying under a thick blanket while Naruto was sweating like crazy, an anxious expression on his face as he gulped nervously, a light blush on his face.

He couldn't help but gaze at her peaceful facial features, his face that of awe at how beautiful she was. His eyes though widened a bit upon noticing liquid stains on her cheeks.

'_Was she crying?_' he thought with a confused expression when she moaned something.

"Taicho...no more work, I wa...," she trailed, her words now incoherent while Naruto couldn't help but smile at the cute expression on her face. Strangely though, she was now wearing a violet kimono, which was still...revealing her ample cleavage much to his nervousness.

Grabbing a hold of her forearm, he slightly lifted it as he began to worm his way out of her hold.

"Mhmmm...," she moaned in what seemed to be irritation, her eyebrows scrunched up when she pulled him to herself.

'_Oh kami...,_' Naruto prayed as he found his body pressed to hers tightly, her hot breath tingling his ears while Naruto had a furious blush on his face.

'_Why me!'_he whined mentally while crying anime tears. He had to admit though, the warmth she was expelling in this chilling cold was comfortable and a welcomed factor for his body.

Seeing that it was better if he laid there for a bit longer, his expression grew serious as he remembered the events that had taken place the previous night.

_'Yeah...I'm a shinigami. What now huh? It seems first I'll have to train to control my spiritual energy to at least be able to use my chakra properly. And then, my shinobi career would start,'_ his lips curled down in a bitter expression.

_'Fate does seem to enjoy pushing me deeper into the mud __pit__ it seems. I guess it's better that I just accept I can never be normal like everyone else and should...just move on,'_ he thought, his eyes turning into that of determined one. He didn't know what was going on with him before, but now that he knew...now that he could see the bridge, he'll surely cross it, no matter the amount of difficulties!

_'I'd never imagined that afterlife would be so confusing. But never mind, I already went through this the last night, it's best that I meet Teuchi-oji and Ayame-chan again,'_ the whiskered blonde thought as he continued to stare up at the ceiling, planning on what he would be doing next.

Last night when he had returned to his apartment, he couldn't sleep for sometime as his mind had slowly came to terms with what had happened. One thing he knew was that his life would be changing drastically from now on, it would never be the same. But...

'_But, Rangiku-san doesn't seem to hate me like the other villagers. Of course she wouldn't, she's from another world you baka! But...does that mean that she'll hate me later on just like others? I really hope not, she almost sacrificed her life yesterday to save me and Shiroi-chan. I don't know, but the way she's been treating me...she even offered to train me in controlling my spiritual energy. Nobody has ever done that, and she has known me for only a day...I can't help but feel this sort of strange connect__ion__ with her. Maybe...maybe it's because she gave me her shinigami abilities.'_

His thoughts though came to a stop when he heard a moan coming from besides him. His body stiffened when he felt her move a bit, his eyes widening in panic as he struggled to think.

_'Oh my god! What should I do? She'll just think I'm some kind of a pervert...well it's her fault to start with! Couldn't she have just slept at the Ichiraku's house?_' he thought before closing his eyes suddenly, acting like he was sleeping while Matsumoto slowly opened her eyes groggily.

Naruto though was concentrating on executing his plan flawlessly.

'_Okay...so I have to relax my body completely. My facial features should be totally relaxed while my breathing rate should be completely even and calm,'_ he thought frenziedly, doing the actions commensurate to his thoughts as he began to breath slowly, his body now completely relaxed while he accumulated on making his heart beat slow down to normal.

_'Now it would seem more realistic if I add some light snoring. Hehe...she would never know wha-'_

"I know you're awake Narutooo."

FUCK!

He inwardly cursed upon hearing Rangiku's sing song voice, her loud voice hitting his ear drums like a barrage of kunai while he couldn't help but find it melodic...as tight the spot be he was currently in.

Fortunately for him though, he was able to keep a straight face while Matsumoto still had her arm draped over his chest, a pout on her face as she stared at his face.

Suddenly her lips curled into a playful smirk as she slowly sat up, her hand on his chest when she straightaway began to tickle him in a tigerish way.

"Affgh...AHAHAHAHAHAAAHA!" he suddenly burst out laughing, after apparently holding it in for a few seconds as she applied more force to his stomach sides. He wiggled frantically under her clutches as he continued to laugh and plead her to stop.

"H-HEYAHAHA! S-STOP, HAHHAHA!"

THUD!

"OW!"

And he finally fell off the bedside on his butt, panting as he held his stomach while Rangiku peered over the edge with her head resting on her crossed forearms, a smile on her face as she watched him.

Last night, Teuchi had explained almost everything about the shinobi world to her. From the era of the Rikudou Sennin to the great shinobi wars and then finally: the devastating news of the burden that the blonde laying in front of her had to carry everyday. The old chef had gone into detail of Naruto's life, and that how he was treated. Rangiku Matsumoto was a honest woman, and she could easily say that she liked the boy. He held this strange kind of magnetism that attracted her towards him.

'_And not to mention his hot spiritual form,_' she thought with a giggle.

She was shaken to her core that a twelve year boy, who had to bear so much in his life...could just laugh like that. And last night, he had just stood in front of that hollow like it was nothing...to protect her and to protect Shiroi.

She had came to his apartment in the morning, around four or five...and couldn't help but shed tears for the blonde orphan who had to bear so much.

_'His eyes...just look at them, containing so much pain, yet they are bright and so full of exuberance for life. You truly are, different from everybody else Naruto,'_ she thought with a smile while staring at him.

"Ohayou Naruto," she waved her hand, her melodious voice cheerful while Naruto just laid there, his eyebrows twitching dangerously as he glared at her.

"Ohayou Ranguiku-san. Now may I ask you; ... apartment...again? ...again?" his voice calm as he continued to lay there while Matsumoto put a finger under her chin, adopting a thinking pose.

"Ah, Teuchi-san asked me to watch over you seeing as you just gained shinigami powers and that I had nowhere else to live. Oh, he also asked me to bring you over to their house when you were awake. Besides I like your apartment, it's cozy and possesses this warm sense of home," she spoke with a smile while his cheeks lit in a light blush, embarrassed because of the compliment which he was clearly not used to...even if it was a thing that was related to him.

"But why did you have to sleep...besides me? You could've just woken me and I would've slept on the couch! And how did you know in the first place that I was only acting and not sleeping?" he yelled comically, suddenly standing up as he pointed an accusing finger at her.

"I could sense your reiryoku fluctuating a bit, so I knew you were wide awake. And well….you looked so cute while sleeping! I just couldn't wake you up!" she spoke childishly with a pout while Naruto's face intensified in a furious blush as he took a startled step backwards.

"D-Don't mess with me lady!" he yelled, clearly being shocked by her bluntness.

"Why? I'm not messing with you. I was just telling you the truth. Besides, your body is really warm," the vice captain spoke with a wink, a smile on her face while the blush on Naruto's face got darker as he furiously shook his head to get control of himself. Matsumoto though stared at him in amusement, a smile on her face as she watched his antics.

"S-Shutup! Don't try anything f-funny, I'm just a kid!"

"But yesterday you said you weren't a kid," she retorted instantly with an evangelistic smile, instantaneously shutting him up as he endeavored to come up with a reply.

"Aghh! I need to go to the bathroom!" he exclaimed in frustration before dashing towards the bathroom.

THUD!

He closed the door with some force while she could hear him muttering behind the door. She suddenly broke into fits if giggles, not being able to contain it in when suddenly the door opened.

"What I meant to say was that I'm not a kid! I'm an adult, but not adult enough for adult activities or talk!"

WHAM!

He again closed the door quickly while Rangiku started laughing harder much to his ire, tears leaking from her eyes as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

_'Things just can't get boring around you, eh Naruto?'_

**Meanwhile: Soul Society: Seireitei: Captain's Meeting Chamber**

"Alright, let's start this meeting. I've mainly called for this meeting to discuss Matsumoto Rangiku's disappearance a week ago," Yamamoto spoke in a loud hoarse voice, with one silver haired captain stiffing up a bit at the mention of his lieutenant.

"So, still no sign of her, Yama-ji?" Kyouraku spoke in his lazy tone as he tilted his straw hat over his eyes.

"Unfortunately no. However the Patrol Corps of the Onmitsukidō are still searching the Dangai. According to Inaba Kagerōza of the Shinigami Research & Development Institute, who specializes in observing the traffic within Dangai, the coordinates of Matsumoto Rangiku's location indicates that she was there before her disappearance a week ago," the captain commander said with narrowed eyes when Aizen spoke.

"I don't want to be the one to break this news, but it could be possible that she came in contact with the Kotetsu, which was sweeping through the Dangai at the same time when she was found to be there," Toshiro's eyes widened at hearing that. Everybody knew that if that had happened….

"It is a possibility, but regardless…we have to keep searching for her. The fact that she had a Jigokucho, and that she still entered the Dangai is a mystery in itself. It shouldn't be possible…this seems suspicious and I suspect this as someone's doing," Genryusai said in a serious tone while Hitsugaya had a frown on his face.

"Do not take this matter lightly. She is a lieutenant of Seireitei, and as such this is not a small matter which we can just overlook. The second division headquarters would continue to investigate into this matter while Kuchiki Rukia, who was originally assigned to the Karakura town would carry out the mission seeing as Ukitake-taicho's condition is now stable," he continued with Soifon nodding while Ukitake just nodded.

"But, are you sure that this incident wouldn't take place again, sotaicho?" Byakuya asked in a monotone voice, his face expressionless.

"You don't have to worry about that Kuchiki-taicho. The twelfth division has already performed several tests and has declared the passageway from the Senkaimon to the human world as stable," Kurotsuchi spoke with that scary grin on his face while Byakuya just continued to stare at the captain commander, ignoring his fellow captain.

"He's right Kuchiki taicho. You can rest assured, the same thing wouldn't happen to Kuchiki Rukia," the oldest captain said with a nod while Hitusugaya had his fists clenched tightly.

_'Matsumoto, I don't believe that you're dead. This seems too fishy to just be any accident. I just hope you're fine right now, wherever you are.'_

**Timeskip: Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment: One Hour Later**

"Teuchi-san, they're here!" Ayame, who was dressed in her usual dress exclaimed as she entered with Naruto and Rangiku through the back of their ramen stand.

"Eh? Ayame-chan, why are you calling him Teuchi-san? And you keep calling me Naruto-san too," Naruto asked with a confused expression making Ayame smirk while Rangiku giggled, making him look at her with a frown.

"Because she's not Ayame Naruto-kun," he snapped his head forwards to see Ayame exit the kitchen, wearing the shinigami garb making his eyes widen in shock.

"W-What's going on here?"

"Relax kid, the one you were talking to is what we call an artificial soul," Teuchi, who was wearing a shinigami garb spoke. Besides him, stood another Teuchi who was dressed in his chef uniform, both of them had came out of what Naruto thought as his bedroom.

'_What was he doing inside the bedroom with an artificial soul...? Maybe he was...NO! I d__on't think iji-san leans that way...Ayame-chan wouldn't have been born then,__'__' _thought Naruto while nodding to himself.

"It's something which was invented by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute of Seireitei. Teuchi-san here probably uses the artificial soul pill to do his everyday duties when he's in his shinigami form," Rangiku replied making the blonde nod, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"It's just like the clone technique, only this is solid," he muttered to himself with a nod.

"And that they don't dispel too," the 'real' Ayame said with a smirk making his mouth open in an 'o', nodding at her.

"Alright, you two can go now," Teuchi spoke as the two artificial souls nodded before they went to serve the waiting customers.

"But, if they are the artificial souls….then surely they wouldn't know how to prepare the super ramen like you guys. They shouldn't possess the skills you guys have developed over the years," the whiskered blonde spoke with a confused expression making Matsumoto's eyes widen a bit in realization while Teuchi smirked at him.

'_Yeah, he's not the idiot that everyone thinks of him so much,_' the old chef smirked as he smiled at Naruto, a proud smile on his face while rubbing the underside of his nose with his index finger in pride.

"That my boy, is my personal invention. These souls are not ordinary souls. Instead of using the ordinary artificial soul pills, I created something called the Replicating Soul Pills," Ayame just sighed at her father, the old guy never backed down from boasting about his inventions and how great a researcher he was.

"You don't mean…." Matsumoto spoke with widened eyes, just the name was enough for her to understand what those pills did.

"Yeah! Those pills copy the traits of one's soul down to the smallest detail and creates a exact replica of the user's soul!" yeah, he really became enthusiastic like a child on high sugar when it came to his inventions.

"Wow! That's so cool oji-san! You can do something like that? What are the other things you've invented?" Naruto asked with double sprightliness, his eyes shining brightly as he was in front of the old chef in a flash.

_'Oh no…'_ Ayame thought with a dreadful expression on her face, her face pale as she watched that fire ignite in her father's eyes. She knew they had to do something quick, or it was time for another one of his boring science lectures.

"My boy Naruto! I knew there was something special in you! C'mon, let me sho-"

"Ah Tou-san! Didn't we call Naruto-kun here to begin his training?" Ayame held her jaw tight from laughing outright, she knew how much big of a sucker Naruto was when it came to training.

"What? Training! Are you going train me Ayame-chan?" he asked with a confused expression, getting a nod from her. Teuchi though was currently glaring at Ayame for terminating his moment with Naruto.

"You still have one month before your academy graduation exams. I think you can do it this time if you train hard enough this month," Rangiku spoke with a smile making his eyes wide as he snapped his head towards her.

"Y-You think I can do it?" he asked, unable to keep the astonishment from his voice. It was probably the first time in his life that someone was believing in him, and what more…it was a person whom he had just met a day ago.

"Of course! You totally wiped the floor with that hollow yesterday, I believe you can do it," the vice captain spoke with an exhortatory smile while Naruto couldn't help but smile at her involuntarily, his eyes warm and bright as he stared at her in awe.

_'She believes in me,_' he thought, not believing his ears.

"So, you're up for it Naruto?" Teuchi said with a smirk when the blonde turned his head towards him with incomparable determination reflecting off his face.

"Yeah, let's do this!"

"Follow me then soldier!" Teuchi spoke with a smile as he turned around and entered his bedroom with the others following him.

"Hey, what are we doing in your…..bedroom?" he asked hesitatingly as he backed away a little too wary to go near the perverted old man but trailed upon seeing Teuchi remove a wooden tile from the floor to reveal the tip of a ladder.

"Dive down kid!" the old chef said before he jumped through the wide square hole.

"Go on Naruto-kun….I think you would be surprise to see what's down there," Ayame said with a smirk making both the blondes look at her in confusion. Shrugging to himself, Naruto went towards the hole before jumping down, sliding his hands over the ladder's side to keep his balance.

THUP!

"What in the world…." he muttered to himself, his jaw dropped as he found himself standing in what seemed to be a large underground room. A huge room actually….much larger than an average training ground with random trees and bushes here and there. It was just like one of those large clearings in a forest.

"Wow….this is magnificent Teuchi-san," he turned his head back to see Rangiku having an impressed expression on her face, behind whom was standing Ayame.

"Yo Naruto-kun!" he snapped his forwards to see Shiroi sitting far away on the branch of a tree, waving at him.

"Hello there Shiroi-chan!" he replied back with a smile, glad to see her as they followed the retreating form of Teuchi, who was walking towards the area where Shiroi was sitting.

"What are you doing here Shiroi-chan?" he asked, gazing upwards at her as they stood below her on the grassy field.

"To watch you train of course you silly," she replied with a giggle making him smile at her.

"Alright Naruto, it's time to start. According to what Rangiku-san told me, your speed in spiritual form is really impressive. So I think it would be better if I saw you fight at least once," Teuchi said with a serious expression on his face.

"But whom will I fight? There are no hollows here," he spoke with a confused expression.

"Me Naruto-kun," Ayame said with a smirk making him look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"But, wouldn't you get hurt if I slash you or something. I mean...my zanbatou could easily melt through that average sized katana of yours," he said while Ayame's eyes started to twitch dangerously whereas Naruto could faintly hear Rangiku grumbling about _'it's a zanpakutou.'_

"Who do you take me for anyway Naruto-kun?" the female Ichiraku verbalized in a threatening low voice when Naruto felt his breathing being hitched in his throat.

He suddenly felt heavy again, his shoulders slumping down as his breathing came in short pants. Rangiku though had her eyes widened as she stared at Ayame in surprise.

_'Her reiatsu...this is a vice captain's level.__I never imagined that Ayame-san would have such skill with reiatsu so as to direct it at only one person_,' she thought while Ayame smirked at the panting form of Naruto, solely concentrating her reiatsu on him.

"So, you still think I can get hurt Naruto-kun?" she spoke, still maintaining the flow before nodding towards her father.

Nodding back, Teuchi pulled out a black glove, having a white skull mark on it which he thrusted on Naruto's chest. Immediately an adult Naruto was pulled out his body in a flash of blue strings of spiritual energy.

Ayame kept the steady output of her reiatsu, centering it only on Naruto while the adult blonde struggled to stand upright as he panted a bit.

"Alright Rangiku-san, back away a bit...this may get nasty," Teuchi said as the blonde female shinigami immediately nodded before dashing towards him in a burst of speed, her form a blur.

"Whoa!" Shiroi exclaimed in surprise when she found Matsumoto sitting besides her in a blink of an eye.

"Ahehehe, sorry Shiroi-chan. Didn't mean to scare you there, I was just testing this special gigai that Teuchi-san had given me the last night," she said with an apologetic smile while the silver haired plus smiled back at her.

"It's no problem Matsumoto-san. You just startled me, but I couldn't even see you! This body that Teuchi-san gave you, it really is something."

"Yeah, I have to admit that he's really something. There are only two persons who could give him competition in this department," she replied as then both of them turned their heads towards where the trio of shinigami were standing.

"Now Naruto, seeing as you are having trouble standing under Ayame-chan's reiatsu, let me today show just how large your spiritual energy reserves are," Teuchi spoke with a serious expression as he nodded towards Ayame, who further increased the spiritual pressure that was being forced on Naruto.

"Aghh!" the blonde exclaimed in surprise when he found himself on his knees, beads of sweat now streaming down his cheeks as he started to pant heavily.

"Now, to counter this pressure that you're feeling right now, you need to increase the the output of your reiryoku. Close your eyes and try to concentrate, it is just like building chakra...only easier this time. Considering your large reserves, it should be easy to grasp," the aged shinigami said as Naruto just cursed this damn reiatsu thing under his breath.

_'Okay, calm down and focus...'_ the blonde thought as he closed his eyes, searching for that something, that energy he felt flowing through him when he became a shinigami.

"Look...," Rangiku said, her eyes showing her curiosity as she watched Naruto's spiky bangs started to hover a bit.

_'He's doing it! I can feel it, he's increasing the output rate of his reiryoku. I've never seen someone grasp his spiritual reserves so soon. Even the strongest of the prodigies in the Shino academy weren't able to do this so soon,'_ the blonde lieutenant thought with an stunned expression on her face.

Ayame too stared at him, sensing his growing reiryoku as she increased her reiatsu more, wanting him to relinquish more of his spiritual energy.

Naruto's face though scrunched up in an expression of struggle as he kept his concentration, his body and the air around feeling heavier than before.

_'C'mon...a little more...THERE!'_

Everyone's eyes widened when they felt a huge shift in the air pressure.

"Whoa!" Ayame exclaimed in surprise when suddenly Naruto's body lit up in a flash of violet spiritual energy, becoming a violet colored tower of raw energy as it reached to the artificial sky that was the ceiling of this underground compound.

_'What raw power!'_ Teuchi thought, his elbows in front of his eyes as dust had covered the area around him. Waves of raw reiryoku swept over the area violently as wind picked up around the trio.

Ayame was shocked! The reiatsu he was ejecting was already that of a captain's level, but she could tell that it was wild and untamed. It was clear that Naruto had huge spiritual energy reserves, but no control whatsoever. So just to stand under the crazy amount of spiritual pressure, she had to release all of her reiryoku.

Matsumoto too couldn't believe her eyes, so much reiryoku! She too had increased her now decreased reiryoku because they could feel the effects even at this distance.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, never having felt so at ease...and powerful. Slowly his spiritual energy output began to decrease.

Teuchi however, had noticed another strange thing about his spiritual energy which was currently visible, it had random lightning streaks which were surrounding his reiryoku as well in the air around him.

'_That lightning...does this mean that his reiatsu is of elemental type just like Yamamoto Genryusai. But it clearly isn't complete, this is a mixture of an ordinary one and an elemental one. It does seem though that his reiatsu might develop at a later stage into a lightning type one,'_ he thought as now Naruto's reiryoku levels had returned to normal levels, only dust covering the clearing.

"Shiroi-san, are you alright?" Rangiku asked as she held the plus carefully.

"Yeah, I'm fine Rangiku-san," she replied while panting.

_'Her chain of fate...it seems she has a maximum time of around two or three weeks.'_

"See Naruto...you have huge spiritual energy reserves but lack control over it, just like the case with your chakra. But you'll see that it is easier to control your reiryoku than chakra," Ayame said while coughing a bit under the dust. Not much to Teuchi's surprise though, Naruto had an expression of awe on his face as small random flashes of lightning were now hovering over every part of his body.

"I...I never knew I had such power. I felt so...so much, I just can't describe this," the blonde said as he gazed at his palms, clenching them as blue lightning streaked around them which slowly died down.

"Don't get carried away Naruto. Just like in the shinobi world, if you can't control your reiryoku...then you are practically useless in battle," the aged Ichiraku said making Naruto look at him with a serious expression, nodding back at him.

_'It seems Naruto-kun isn't an ordinary human after all. That lightning...it can't be a result of Rangiku-san transferring her powers to him,_' Ayame thought to herself as she stared at him before taking out her zanpakutou.

"I think it's time we see what you can do Naruto-kun," she spoke with a challenging smirk, making him look back at her with his own confident smirk.

"Alright, create some distance you two. Let's start this...a guest would be arriving soon," Teuchi said with a smirk making Naruto shrug as he pulled out Haineko.

"Oh this should be good!" Matsumoto spoke with an ecstatic smile as Shiroi too looked on with curiosity.

Both of the teens jumped back to create some distance while Teuchi too walked back.

_'Alright, Teuchi-oji told us that Ayame-chan's been working with him for some years, so she should be strong. Though she doesn't look intimidating at all...but so is the case with Rangiku-san,'_ he thought as clenched the hilt of Haineko tighter, both of them staring down each other with serious expressions on their faces.

"Okay Naruto, attack Ayame-chan with everything you've got. And remember, don't hold back!" the elder Ichiraku yelled making Naruto look at him like he was crazy.

"Are you serious? Do you not see the size of my katana, she can get injured seriously!"

"That baka...," Rangiku mumbled as she face palmed herself.

Ayame too sighed along with Teuchi, they should've known that he would state things like these.

"Fine then kid. Don't say I didn't warn you. Ayame-chan, just one weak strike...and make sure that he can see you," he said making her nod while Naruto too readied himself with a smirk.

"Here I come Naruto-kun," she muttered before dashing towards the blonde, majorly holding back on her speed.

CLANG!

"Aghh!" he exclaimed in surprise as he found himself flying back...

WHAM!

...before he crashed into a large tree trunk violently. Apparently, he had horizontally blocked her blurry slash; which held some mind boggling force behind it.

"You think I hit him a little hard?" Ayame asked with some concern in her brown orbs when Teuchi just shook his head.

"No, his training has started as of today. He'll be enduring much more stronger hits than this," he replied as Naruto slowly stood up, a hand on his strained back as he gritted his teeth in pain.

"T-That was a weak strike!" he exclaimed with surprise written all over his face.

"Yes, now do you see...you don't need to hold back Naruto-kun. Now come at me," she said with a 'come on' motion with her left hand.

Gripping Haineko tighter, the whiskered blonde nodded before he bolted towards her at full speed.

_'Impressive,'_ both Ichirakus thought simultaneously upon witnessing his speed.

Rearing his zanpakutou back, he lunged towards her at blurry speeds before going for a downwards slash, putting as much force behind the attack as he could.

**CLING!**

His eyes widened to massive proportions, he stared at her astonishment as she had easily blocked his strike with her 'katana', only one hand gripping the hilt.

"I do hope you're not holding back Naruto-kun," Ayame spoke with an amused smile on her face while he gritted his teeth as he tried to overpower her...but to no avail.

Jumping back, he skidded back to a halt.

_'How did she...how can she be so strong?'_ Naruto thought with a thunderstruck expression.

"Wow, did you look at that. She's freakishly strong," Shiroi said with an amazed expression while Rangiku too had to say...she was impressed.

_'I don't know if she has unlocked her shikai, but in other areas...she's clearly at a lieutenant's level.'_

_'Alright, if can't overpower her then I'll just go for one after another strikes,_' Naruto thought before he again jolted at her.

_'Hm, he clearly possesses that raw instinct for battle, wonder if it is because of the kyuubi,_' Teuchi pondered as he watched the blonde go for one slash after another, with Ayame easily dodging each one of them with practiced ease, her movements fluid while it looked like she was toying with the blonde.

"Stay..."

He gasped in between one of his missed whips when he again reared his sword behind him, stretching his arms to the max before going for a downwards slash at thundering speeds

"STILL!"

**CWING!**

"Ugghh!" he grunted through gritted teeth after she had blocked his zanpakutou again...this time however using both of her hands.

"Impressive Naruto-kun...the strength behind your attacks has been continuously increasing from the beginning. I wonder what's your limit," she spoke calmly with a smirkas both of their zanpakutou gridded against each other, sparks being produced along with minute screeching sounds.

"H-How can you be so strong?" he asked, his face hunkered up in struggle as he again tried to overpower her.

"Don't know..." she trailed, a smile on her face while Naruto's eyes widened when he felt himself being overpowered.

"Kghh!" he exclaimed, Haineko slipping out of his hand as it went sailing upwards in air, courtesy of a strong upward slash by Ayame. His eyes were widened as the blonde took several startled steps backwards while she stood with a smirk on her face.

...

...

"W-What?"

"...maybe because I've training myself into the past these past several years," her smirking face now only inches away from his, she spoke in a low tone while her blade was poised at his throat.

_'She was so fast! I couldn't even see her,'_he thought in astonishment as Ayame had just blurred from his vision to appear in front of him.

"Well well Naruto-kun, already started training huh?"

_'That voice,'_ Naruto thought in surprise as he snapped his head towards the entrance of the compound.

"Wha...?" he trailed in neck breaking shock upon seeing the figure walking towards them.

"Ah Hokage-dono, it's nice to see you," Teuchi said with a smile. Ayame though sheathed her zanpakutou, giggling at Naruto's dumbstruck expression as she ruffled his hair tenderly...of course with her cheeks being decorated by a light blush.

"Sorry for being late Teuchi-san...the paperwork just wouldn't leave me."

"J-Jiji?" Naruto stuttered with wide eyes, with his pupil zooming out in shock as he stared at the old man in his hokage robes, walking towards them.

"You've grown Naruto-kun, or should I say...shinigami."

**YOSH! Hope you liked the chapter...and the cliffhanger. So if you guys have any questions, just shoot! (Either in a review or a PM)**

**So please REVIEW, and I'll update extra soon! So thanks for reading and take care you guys! Ja Ne! :)**

**N6023**


	4. Fire Shadow, Dark Void

**So here's hopefully, a quick update for you guys. And for those wondering about CoMSW, I'm putting it on a short temporary hold. It should be a maximum of one month.**

**I'm really sorry for this, but currently since this fic is getting a much greater response...I'm motivated to write this one currently. So hopefully, you aren't toooooo...angry with me? :p**

**Oh well, but let's start the chapter-**

**Chapter-4****-Fire Shadow, Dark Void**

"Sorry for being late Teuchi-san...the paperwork just wouldn't leave me."

"J-Jiji?" Naruto stuttered with wide eyes, his pupil zooming out in shock as he stared at the old man in his hokage robes, walking towards them.

"You've grown Naruto-kun, or should I say...shinigami," an amused smile on his slightly wrinkled face while Naruto just stared at him shock.

"Y-You can see me?" he asked while Teuchi and Ayame were smirking at his flabbergasted expression.

"If you mean a young man with blonde hair, blue eyes, three whisker marks, holding a large zanpakutou and sporting an expression like his ramen was stolen...then yes, I can see you," Hiruzen replied with a chuckle making Ayame giggle while Naruto just huffed in annoyance as he placed Haineko on his shoulders, catching it in mid air.

Noticing Rangiku and Shiroi walking towards them, Teuchi spoke,"Ah! There's our guest Hokage-dono."

Turning his head to the right, he saw a blonde haired woman coming towards them along with Shiroi. Immediately his eyes travelled down to her revealed cleavage, getting glued to the sight as a perverted grin spread across his face.

_'Now that's what we call a golden Icha Icha: Chestnut __W__oman,'_ he thought when somewhere another white haired pervert sneezed.

Naruto's eyes began to twitch as he watched the old pervert shamelessly ogle Matsumoto.

"Your nose is bleeding you old geezer," he muttered with a scowl present on his face while Ayame too frowned at their hokage.

Reaching the group, Rangiku was not so surprised to find the old guy staring at her chest.

"Rangiku-san, this is the sandaime hokage of our village that I told you about last night," Teuchi deliberately spoke loudly, trying to get him out of his trance but to no avail.

Getting fed up with his staring at her chest like that, she spoke with a forced smile.

"These do not talk. My mouth is up here...**oji-san**," and finally he snapped his head to face her, an expression of horror on his face that such a beautiful and developed lady had called him 'oji-san.'

"O-Oji-san?" he muttered in disbelief when he heard muffled laughter behind him. Turning his head back, he saw Naruto and Ayame quietly laughing to themselves as he glared at them.

_'Serves you right ero-jiji,'_ the blonde thought when his eyes fell on Rangiku, who too was staring at him. She had that unknown look in her eyes as she smiled at him, her cheeks a light shade of red while he stopped laughing abruptly, his cheeks red when she winked at him. His blush deepened before he averted his gaze.

_'Why was she staring at me like that?' _he thought in nervousness, an odd unknown sense of giddiness filling his form. Meanwhile Hiruzen though smirked when Naruto stopped laughing abruptly, thinking he had intimidated the boy with his glare.

_'Heh, I still haven't lost it,' _ he mused with a proud smile on his face when his expression immediately turned to 'don't fuck with me' hokage look.

"Ahm, I apologize for my rudeness Rangiku-san," he expressed seriously with a bow.

"It's okay Hokage-sama," she uttered awkwardly with a smile when Sarutobi gave her his grandfatherly smile. His eyes though then settled on the silver haired woman standing besides Rangiku, his expression now melancholic.

"Shiroi-san...," he addressed softly making the said woman look at him, "I'm sorry that you had to die at such a young age. It really is unfortunate."

Shiroi smiled sadly at him, her eyes pained when she replied, "It's alright hokage-sama. I guess this was as far as I was supposed to live. But...dying isn't bad too I think. There's another world to explore you know, it would be a matter of time before I go to soul society."

Naruto though lowered his head in sadness at hearing that fact, she was the first true friend he had made in his life. And he knew that she would leave just like other souls one day, but it really pained him to not be able to see her again.

Hiruzen though was smiling at the optimistic woman in front of him. She was ready to move on, and he hoped to a better place. Matsumoto however had put a comfortable hand on her shoulders, giving her an encouraging smile making the silver haired plus return the gesture.

Deciding to change the subject, Teuchi said...

"So Hokage-dono, I hope no one saw the hollow or felt the disturbance caused by it when it landed on Naruto's apartment."

"Actually there were a few chunin, who were on patrol duty last night heard the ruckus caused by it. They had checked the area to find nothing but some shops and apartments damaged. They had immediately reported to me. But that's taken care of, I just stated that it was a fire accident. Unfortunately though, some people were injured this time...but they're not seriously wounded," he replied with a serious expression making the old shinigami nod with clenched fists. They couldn't afford to be late the next time, this time people were wounded; next time they could die.

"About those chunins, were they suspicious that something else maybe the cause of this?" Ayame questioned making the hokage turn to her.

"Yeah, I have a hunch that they suspect this of not just any ordinary accident. They told me that as they got closer to the location, they felt a bit heavy and a foul presence in the air," he uttered making her nod grimly while Naruto just listened to them intently

"Probably due to the hollow's lingering reiatsu in that area," Matsumoto deduced making them nod when Naruto intervened.

"Then does that mean, that Teuchi-oji and Ayame-chan usually take care of those hollows while you handle the...after effects and any damage so that civilians and shinobi of our village don't get suspicious?" this time, it was Hiruzen's turn to get surprised.

"Well yes, that's what I usually do...aside from governing the village that is," clearly his tone held an impressed edge to it. He hadn't expected the boy to pick up so quickly, but well...Teuchi had told him early this morning when they had met in his office.

"And the question I'm dying to ask...how do you know about the shinigami and all?" Naruto asked in anticipation as he awaited his reply when Teuchi answered.

"I told him," making Matsumoto's eyes widen.

"But that's against the codes of a shinigami. You can't tell a human about us!" she verbalised in surprise while her eyes, which usually were jovial and carefree were sharp. How can they be so careless?

"But I'm a human too," Naruto spoke in confusion making her look at him, her eyes getting softer.

"You're...an exception Naruto. You beforehand, were unconsciously releasing a high amount of reiryoku in your physical body. I had to tell you everything because eventually the hollows would target you, just like yesterday...and so that you should atleast know what's happening around you," he nodded in understanding, but the light scowl on his face indicated that he was troubled by something.

"Rangiku-san...," Teuchi began, gaining her attention before he continued, "...things for us shinigami here work differently. The shinigami from squad zero, who serve the spirit king...as you know are assigned to different geographical areas in this world just like the other human world. As I stated before, there was a guardian shinigami responsible for Konoha too until I came."

"But you see, guardian shinigami work differently than us. Since most of the shinigami in squad zero were previously captains of the of their respective squads in Gotei 13, you should know that there were some researchers who were promoted to be a part of squad zero too. Hence, since the spirit king's realm possesses these captain level researchers, they have some mind blowing technology too. One of their inventions is the **Kaikeisoushinki **(Account-Removal Spirit Device). It is much more effective than the Kikanshinki and focuses on removing specific memories instead of just influencing them like the Kikanshinki does," he spoke seriously when Naruto intervened.

"But why don't they just simply use this Kikanshinki instead of this Kaisu...well whatever you said earlier," he said with a frown, an irritated expression on his face while Shiroi and Rangiku were giggling at him quietly.

"Kikanshinki Naruto, is a device which is usually limited to a user's imagination. If a person here sees a shinigami or a hollow, Kikanshinki influences their memories based on their imagination. However, it doesnot works in every person's case. If the victim is a spiritually aware one, most likely that of an elite jounin and kage's level, then the Kikanshinki sometimes fail to influence their memories. To avoid such cases, those guardian shinigami use the Kaikeisoushinki to just remove those fragments of memories. Moreover, it can be used on a widespread scale instead of just one person," he finished while Matsumoto had to say, this device was really something.

"But still, this does not explain my question," she uttered with a frown while Naruto just concentrated on absorbing as much information as he could.

"Ah yes. You see, there is this one problem for me, who currently is incharge of Konoha as a shinigami. I don't have the Kaikeisoushinki. I did ask the previous guardian to lend it to me so that I could analyse the technology used and possibly create one for myself. But as I told before, they are extremely strict in following their rules and hence he didn't give it to me. All of them just remind of that stuck up Hyuga clan," the old chef grumbled at the end before he continued.

"So as you see, this created a problem for me. I knew that whenever a hollow would attack, even if it is rare...it would cause ruckus leading to the shinobi here reaching the site. And obviousy they would feel threatened and would be able to atleast see the silhouette of the hollow, or mine. Then, obviously they would throw jutsu at the hollow or maybe even me and in the process raise their chakra levels which would make it visible to the jounins, and hokage-dono here obviously. To solve this problem, I needed some help. So who better than the village leader itself, the one who could just claim it as some form of an enemy attack or an accident," Rangiku sighed, really matters here were much complex than in the other human world. But she understood Teuchi's position, and it was risky, but a smart move to tell the village leader about this.

"And you immediately believed all this jiji?" Naruto asked in mild surprise when Hiruzen, who had been quiet before replied.

"Well, it was not like I haven't seen a shinigami before. The **Shiki Fujin **(Dead Demon Consuming Seal) of the yondaime hokage did summon a shinigami after all," he said when Naruto interjected.

"He could summon a shinigami?" a shocked expression on his face making Sarutobi nod when Teuchi spoke.

"Yeah, and that shinigami was most probably from the Spirit King's realm. Not much is known about it actually," Rangiku was not surprised though considering the elder Ichiraku had told her the previous night.

"So jiji, not that I'm complaining or anything...but why did you come here?" the whiskered blonde asked.

"I came to check on you Naruto-kun. You are now a shinigami, so a big responsibility rests on your shoulders too, ne? And the graduation exams are in one month. You'll have to train hard this time, and I think Teuchi-san can help you in more ways than just one," he verbalised with that mysterious smirk while Teuchi too smirked back as he nodded back at him, Naruto though could only watch the exchange in confusion.

_'Have these old geezers gone senile?'_ he pondered with a sweatdrop.

"So Teuchi-san, I guess unofficially you work for the spirit king right?" Rangiku asked while Shiroi yawned, she was getting bored!

"Who said it was unofficial Rangiku-san? I'm an official substitute shinigami of the King's realm," the ramen chef spoke with a smirk making their jaws drop before he pulled out something.

"Here look, this is my badge," it was black in colour having a pentagonal shape, a white skull in the front which was drenched in yellow flames. Naruto's eyes though twinkled as he stared at it dreamily while Teuchi's smirk widened at his expression.

"That is so cool oji-san! " he exclaimed excitedly.

_'Certainly looks colourful than the one we gave to Kugo Ginjo,' _Matsumoto thought as she stared at the batch.

"Then does that mean Ayame-san too is a substitute shinigami?" Shiroi asked this time making Naruto look at Ayame curiously, who blushed lightly under his piercing gaze.

"Um...no, you can say I just work under Tou-san," she uttered while squirming a bit under his gaze as he smiled at her.

"Then oji-san, can I work under you too? I too want to kill those hollows and protect Konoha like you guys do," he spoke with big watery eyes, an eager expression on his face making Ayame, Rangiku and Shiroi giggle at him.

"You can...but not right now," he said with a smirk.

"But WHY? I'm already a shinigami!" he exclaimed with a childish frown making the old chef shake his head in exasperation when Hiruzen answered with a chuckle.

"You have to get strong enough Naruto-kun. Right now, you may possess a high level of reiryoku...but you don't know how to control it and use it in battle effectively. In simple words, you need to train...just like Ayame-chan did," while the blonde just frowned in thought.

"But I totally kicked that hollow's ass yesterday! He couldn't even see me!"

"Hn! That hollow was a pretty weak one Naruto, much weaker than the ones that usually come. That's why I'm worried right now. A hollow that weak shouldn't have known how to use the special garganta. There really must be something going on in Hueco Mundo," Teuchi pondered loudly as he sported a thoughtful expression on his face.

"That...was a weak one? I think I can I can take on stronger ones too," he spoke with a serious expression, clenching his fists while Matsumoto couldn't help but admire his confidence and determination. Hiruzen though just pinched the bridge of his nose, he knew Naruto would be stubborn in these types of matters.

"Fine then. Seeing as how stubborn you are being here, next time a hollow pops out, you take it on and see for yourself," Teuchi said with a sigh making Naruto grin brightly.

"You wouldn't be disappointed dattebayo!" he exclaimed making them chuckle when suddenly beeping sounds broke the silence.

Both Rangiku and Teuchi took something out, revealing it to be denreishinki while the latter had his eyes widened in shock.

_'A hollow so soon? It just appeared yesterday...this has never happened before!'_ he thought in shock before turning his eyes towards Naruto.

"Is it a hollow Tou-san?" Ayame questioned with a grim expression making the old chef nod while Hiruzen too had a surprised expression on his face. Both Teuchi and stared at each other, as if silenty conveying a message to each other when the hokage suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Hey what's happening? Why did jiji left? And what's with this wierd sound? And you said hollows rarely appear here," Naruto asked, staring at Rangiku as she fiddled with the strange machine.

"I...don't know. But I guess you can test sooner how strong you are. Ayame, go with Naruto," Teuchi said with a smirk as he gave the denreishinki to her making her nod.

"I'm going too," Matsumoto said with a serious expression making Teuchi nod.

"Naruto-kun! Hey wait up!" Ayame yelled when the elder Ichiraku turned his head to see the blonde already running towards the exit.

"Hurry up Ayame-chan! We gotta get to that hollow!" he yelled over his shoulder as he climbed the ladder in just a few steps. Ayame though just shook her head.

"He's really reckless, isn't he Rangiku-san?" turning her head, her eyes widened to find the blonde shinigami missing there.

"Oi Naruto! Wait for me! I'm coming too!" Matsumoto yelled, now out of the arena while Ayame sweatdropped.

"Well aren't those two similar, ne Ayame?" Teuchi said while chuckling, turning his head to find no one but Shiroi, his eyes now twitching in annoyance.

"Ahehe...I think she too has already left," Shiroi spoke with a nervous smile while Teuchi's expression grew serious.

_'This is getting serious. Never has it happened before that two hollows have attacked one after another. I really wonder...just when Rangiku-san arrived tomorrow, a hollow had immediately appeared over Naruto's apartment. And now just after Naruto became a shinigami, another hollow appears the next day. This can't be just a mere coincidence. And this hollow is strong, I can sense it's reiatsu even from here. I wonder if I should go...nah! Ayame should be easily able to take it out, and it would be a good experience for the kid too,' _he inwardly cussed over the matter, trying to unveil the mystery surrounding these recent events.

**Konoha: Rooftops**

"Hey Naruto wait up!," turning his head back, he saw Rangiku catching up as she jumped through the rooftops with amazing agility and speed.

"I can sense it's reiatsu this time Rangiku-san, it's just a little far away," Naruto spoke as they continued to hop at blurry speeds.

Landing down, they found themselves at the entrance of a large district.

"This is the Uchiha Clan district," Naruto muttered as Rangiku gazed at the traditional style architecture of the buildings when they suddenly felt the air itself getting thicker.

_'Such foul and powerful reiatsu! This is a much stronger one than yesterday,' _she thought as both of them dashed through the entrance, running past all the buildings.

"Just ahead of us," she spoke when they heard that familiar howl followed by a sound Matsumoto wasn't familiar with.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu! **(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)," Naruto's eyes widened when he heard that voice. Suddenly increasing his speed, he turned a corner to stumble upon the scene of a black haired woman spiting a large fireball from her mouth, in front of her a giant hollow.

_'Mikoto-san!'_ he thought in alarm upon seeing her engaging a hollow, the fireball colliding with it's stomach with some of it escaping through the hole in the middle. It screamed in pain as the fire melted some of it's skin.

"**YOU DAMN HUMAN! I WAS PLANNING ON LEAVING YOU, BUT NOW I'LL DEVOUR YOU TOO!**" it yelled in it's shrill booming voice while Mikoto, who was wearing civilian clothes stood there with a kunai, a serious expression on her face.

"Whoa! That woman just spitted fire from her mouth!" Rangiku exclaimed in surprise. Sure she had a brief explanation of what shinobi were capable of, but actually seeing it was something else. Naruto though cursed inwardly as he watched the hollow trudge towards the female Uchiha.

'_Damn it! She can see the hollow….this means she'll be able to see me too. But I'm an adult in this form, surely she wouldn't be able to recognize me. Oji-san said that the memory replacement device in some cases might not work….but I'll have to take care of it and just hope that jiji would be able to come with an explanation for Mikoto-san,'_ he thought as he pulled out Haineko making Rangiku turn towards him.

"I'm gonna take it on Rangiku-san. You stay here," he said with a grim expression before dashing towards Mikoto at blundering speeds, making strands of hair of Rangiku flow wildly.

"Yeah, he's really reckless," she muttered to herself with a childish sigh when suddenly Ayame appeared besides her via shunpo. Her eyes immediately widened when she saw the retreating form of Naruto.

"Ah Ayame-san! You came just at the right time!" Matsumoto said cheerfully as she patted the young shinigami's back, making her eyes twitch.

"How could you let him just barge in like that?" she yelled comically making Rangiku smile sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Mikoto stared at the huge strange creature in front of her with her Sharingan. She tightened her grip on the kunai as it dashed towards her at amazing speeds for its size. It was just another ordinary day for her. After Sasuke, who usually ignored her went to the academy, she began to do her usual chores in between some training when she had felt this strange type on pressure on her, followed by a foul aura. Following it, she was greeted to the huge hollow coming out of a strange bluish black hole just in front of her house.

'_I have to send a signal for Hokage-sama. Even though I can __kill__ this one, we may get some valuable information about why it just suddenly popped out of no where. From what I know, this must be some kind of a summon who can use space-time ninjutsu. But the question is, who could be the user?'_ she thought when suddenly her eyes widened upon noticing a black blur by the corner of her eyes.

CLANG!

Her eyes widened further when the same black figure had suddenly appeared in front of her, his sword now in between the hollow's large teeth as the blonde figure continued to stand there while holding back the creature.

'_Who's this now?'_ she thought, staring at the tall blonde figure who now began to slide back under the force that the hollow was putting in.

"Ungh! Stay still," the blonde muttered in a strained voice.

'_Well, this one is much stronger than the previous one alright,'_ Naruto thought as he gritted his teeth, his feet dragging over the concrete as he pushed with as much force as he could.

"W-Who are you?" he heard her speak, not turning his head for he didn't want to risk revealing himself. Grunting under the force, his knees began to buckle when the hollow pulled back suddenly. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw it's large clawed hand approaching his form at amazing speeds. Barely any time left to dodge, he could only lift Haineko just in time again to catch the strike with the metal of his large blade.

WHOOSH!

"Agh!" Mikoto exclaimed as she caught Naruto's body, which was sailing towards her because of the attack. Both of them skidded backwards at high velocity, dust inducing beneath their feet as she held to him tightly.

'_What power!'_ Naruto though in awe, his one eye closed in struggle as he pierced the concrete with his zanpakutou, effectively reducing their speed drastically before they came to a stop just in front of a house. Lifting his head, all he could see was the destroyed concrete because of Haineko with black sliding marks following it to where the large hollow was standing.

'_If I can't win this battle with power, then I'll use my speed,'_ Naruto decided mentally when he felt Mikoto behind him groan. He couldn't help but turn back to check on her, she was apparently alright but her eyes were still closed as she was still clutching to his form tightly. Naruto blushed crimson red upon the close contact, and at that moment couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked, just like always. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and the first thing she was greeted to was the sight of concerned intense blue eyes staring back at her.

"Are you alright Mikoto-san?" he immediately cursed himself for calling her by her name. Mikoto's eyes though widened when she heard the stranger say her name, and the tone with which he had spoken…..she was familiar with it? Her vision then got cleared enough to notice his features, sun kissed blonde hair, electric blue eyes, whisker marks, a large kata…..wait! Whisker marks?

'_There's only one person with those….,' _she thought, her cheeks a light shade of pink as she gazed at his handsome features, his wild untamed spiky blonde hair only adding to the ferocity of his looks.

'_But this man looks much ol-' _her thoughts were interrupted when suddenly her eyes widened. Naruto too stared at the figure behind Mikoto who had hit her at the back of her head while the female Uchiha slowly entered the world of unconsciousness. Her limp body now fell in Naruto's arms to reveal a hooded shinigami standing behind her, her face hidden while the hilt of her zanpakutou was in midair where Mikoto's head was a moment ago.

"Are you crazy Naruto-kun?" from the familiar feminine voice, he immediately deduced it was Ayame who exclaimed with some anger seeping into her voice as she gave him a stern gaze.

"Ayame-chan wha-"

"First you have nothing to cover your face, and secondly you are staring at her up so close like you were just ready to kiss her! Even though you are an adult in your shinigami form, your whisker marks are a dead giveaway of your identity!" she scolded him when suddenly they were interrupted by an explosion.

Naruto turned his head back to see the hollow clutching his face which was covered in black smoke with Rangiku standing in front of it, her hand extended towards the hollow from which smoke was emanating too.

"Never mind! First I'll just take care of this hollow," she spoke with a sigh before suddenly vanishing, blurring out of his vision; making his eyes go wide.

'_How did she…she just vanished!'_ he thought in astonishment. Placing his zanpakutou back in its sheath, he picked up an unconscious Mikoto bridal style before turning around to see the battle.

"Thanks for holding it Rangiku-san. I had to make sure that she didn't see anything more," Ayame said, pulling her hood back after appearing besides Matsumoto who smiled at her in return.

"Ah no problem Ayame-san! Besides it was my fault for letting Naruto run in like that," she said with a grin making Ayame nod back at her with a smile before she turned towards the hollow, some of whose mask was damaged as it growled demonically at them.

"**So, two shinigami have come to be my food today….I'm sure you'll taste much better than ordinary humans**** other insignificant hollows****. But who I'm really interested in is that shinigami over there**," it spoke while pointing towards Naruto with its clawed hand, its body pale brown in color except its white mask while a large tail waved behind the creature.

Ayame and Rangiku's eyes widened while the whiskered blonde just narrowed his eyes.

'_So these hollows are targeting me…..and coming here because of me,'_ he thought, his lips curling down into a frown with Ayame and Rangiku sharing the same thought processes.

"Enough of this," Ayame muttered with a frown as she lifted her hand.

"**Hado no Gojushi: Haien! **(Way of Destruction 54: Nullific Flames)," Matsumoto's eyes widened to saucers upon hearing her when suddenly Ayame fired a powerful blast of purple spiritual energyfrom her right palm, lighting the area in a purple glow while gusts of wind dashed around them.

It reached the stunned hollow in a matter of milliseconds….

BOOM!

A large ear deafening explosion took place making everyone there shield their eyes , covering the area in smoke while Naruto had an expression of amazement on his face.

"Y-You can use **Eishohaki **(Incantation Abandonment)?" Rangiku stuttered in shock. This was a skill only skilled practitioners of kido possessed in Seireitei. And she had used such a level of destructive spell effectively….and what was more shocking was that the power in her attack was still astounding.

'_Abandoning incantation is said to drastically reduce the strength of a kido spell. She really is something else….with the age of around only eighteen human years, she's a genius to achieve this feat so soon,'_ she thought with a stunned expression on her face.

"Well, I'm naturally good with kido you see and can control my reiryoku really well," Ayame spoke with an embarrassed smile.

"Ayame-chan!" she turned her head to see Naruto skid to a halt just besides her, Mikoto safetly tucked in his arms while he held an expression of excitement on his face.

"That was so cool Ayame-chan! How did you do that? Can you please teach me?" he asked with his eyes literally shining like the blazing sun, while Ayame's cheeks flushed upon hearing him compliment her.

"W-Well of course Naruto-kun," she said with a cute smile making him grin foxily as he tightened his hold on Mikoto. Not being able to contain his joy, he spoke…

"I would've hugged you if it were not for Mikoto-san. But this should do it!" he exclaimed cheerfully before leaning in, making Ayame's eyes widen as his lips made contact with her left cheek. She stood there frozen for a few seconds before her face erupted into a furious blush.

'_H-He kissed me!'_ she thought, her heart pounding against her chest as a smile slowly crept onto her lips. She touched her cheek with her hand, the blush still not going away. Rangiku though giggled at her face, her cheeks were themselves pink as she thought of her receiving the same treatment.

"You're the GREATEST Ayame-chan!" he exclaimed loudly making her squirm in her position, her gaze lowered while he grinned obliviously.

"But I want a kiss too Naruto-kuuunnn!" Matsumoto said childishly, her lower lip swelling cutely as she pouted at him. Naruto's face flushed crimson red as he stumbled back a bit.

"D-Don't mess with me lady!" he half stuttered, half yelled….feeling this urge to not just kiss her on the cheeks, but claim her lips. And he was horrified of this!

'_Her lips look so…so, agh! What's happening to me?'_ he thought while feeling this another urge to bang his head on a wall repeatedly.

"**A-Amazing….such a level of s-shinigami, t-truly this new world i-is interesting**," their eyes widened upon hearing that voice, the smoke now clearing to show it's damaged form. Most of its body was tarred black due to the explosion, its mask somehow still unharmed. But what was just in front of him, in between his clawed hands was what made Ayame and Rangiku lose their breath.

'_Impossible! That's a…..,'_ Ayame's thoughts themselves trailed in shock.

"That's a **Kumon**!(Air Gate)" Rangiku exclaimed in immense surprise as she watched the hollow's clawed hands ripping open something black in midair. Ayame though frowned as the black rip slowly decreased in size until it was nothing but air itself.

'_So he must have used the kumon to suck my attack….but it seems he was not able to react in time,'_ she thought while tightening her grip around her zanpakutou's hilt.

"**I w-was careless. I should h-have known t-that…..this world w-would possess m-much stronger opponents. T-They did warned u-us after all**," it said, clearly in pain and exhausted due to the wounds inflicted by the explosion as the black-bluish garganta slowly opened behind him making Ayame's eyes widen.

'_Is another one coming?' _she thought before readying herself.

"**C-Consider yourself lucky this time….shinigami. Y-You got me b-by s-surprise this t-time**," it said as Ayame waited for something to happen while the garganta continued to expand.

"**You s-shinigami….y-you're special**," it said while pointing towards Naruto whose eyes widened while Ayame too lifted her eyebrows in shock.

'_Did he sensed it? Does he know of it?'_ she thought while glancing nervously towards the whiskered blonde.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his eyes indicating maturity beyond his years as he stared at the hollow right into its red glowing eyes.

"**I-In time….you'll see. But r-remember….next time I'll be m-much stronger and prepared. And y-you….would be my t-target shinigami. I h-hope y-you're stronger too**," all of their eyes widened upong hearing it direct its declaration towards Naruto, who though sensed this strange feeling overcoming him, the challenge….the lust of a battle, the feeling of never backing down.

"**R-Remember it s-shinigami, my n-name is…..****Vacio Oscuro**," it said, it's red glowing stare never leaving Naruto's cold blue eyes, who hardened his gaze.

Ayame though gritted her teeth, she couldn't allow this hollow to leave. If he could use and control the kumon like that, then surely he would pose a big threat in the future. Not to mention that his eyes were set on Naruto now for some reason. Clearly this hollow had surpassed all the limits of a normal mindless hollow, who only crazed for high reiryoku souls. This one had a mind, lust for battle and would become much stronger if it was left as it is, not that she knew the limits of its strength even now.

"I've had it!" she exclaimed before using shunpo to dash towards him, her zanpakutou reared back as her eyes grew cold. Naruto though could practically 'feel' Oscuro grinning at them.

"**Heads up shinigami!**" it exclaimed when Ayame and Rangiku's eyes widened upon sensing something powerful above them.

**BOOM!**

Ayame suddenly stopped when a bright pillar of square yellow light fell on them, specifically on Vacio Oscuro. She skidded to a stop, having been blown away by the impact along with others.

"Shit!" she cursed, her eyes narrowed as she gazed towards the sky. Naruto, seeing Ayame and Rangiku staring at something in the sky….looked upwards….

"Holy SHIT!" he cursed loudly, his eyes widened to the maximum as he stared at a huge black rip in the sky, protruding out of which was a giant black creature, it's mask white while its nose was pointed and lengthy.

"What is that thing?" he exclaimed, his heart beating mile a minute as he stared at the intimidating sight, the yellow pillar of light flashing out of the black rip which now was covering the hollow in front of them as a form of square protective cover.

"**Be p-prepared n-next time….shinigami**," Oscuro spoke as his body began to lift in the pillar towards the sky while Naruto turned his head to stare at him with a serious expression.

'_I can't let it escape! Have to use shikai now!'_ Ayame thought as she held her zanpakutou horizontally, tilting it downwards a bit before she lightly slid her two fingers over its flat metal.

"**Zofuk-**"

"It wouldn't work Ayame," she was interrupted upon feeling a hand on her shoulder, turning back to see Teuchi staring towards the sky with a frown on his face.

"It's a **Negacion** (Counter-Membrane). This is impenetrable, even the most powerful of my attacks wouldn't put a dent on it. It practically isolates their target from the current dimension…..it's no use now," he said while Ayame sighed, closing her eyes in frustration as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

Naruto though, who had been staring at the hollow which was slowly ascending towards the black rip spoke loudly.

"I'll be prepared…..Vacio Oscuro. And remember my name, the one to defeat you will be…..shinigami, Uzumaki Naruto!," he loudly verbalized, the blonde bangs covering his forehead as he gave the creature his most serious look. It seemed to grin maniacally before being engulfed by the large kumon which began to decrease in size quickly.

Rangiku though….to say the least was flabbergasted! Naruto, the twelve year old 'man', was open accepting the challenge of a hollow…and kami knows how strong it could be. And considering the way he had manipulated a kumon to its advantage so skillfully…..she somehow doubted Naruto's decision.

'_But….seeing those eyes, that expression….he really does want this. Does this come from the need to be acknowledged, to prove himself to us….or is it this the battle instinct that he showed last night. It seems, he really does enjoy fighting…but I can't help but admire his confidence, his determination__...his stubbornness__,'_ she thought while staring at him as he continued to gaze at the spot where the kumon had been moments ago. Slowly her lips curled into a smirk….

'_Well damn….we have to train him seriously now I guess. He can't survive alone on just his instincts after all.'_

**Hope you liked this chapter! And one more thing, Vacio Oscuro is a spanish phrase which means: 'Dark Void.' Well I thought if Kubo Tite could use spanish in his naming, why shouldn't I? ;)**

**And oh, please review guys. It motivates me to update faster. Last chapter didn't get much reviews, so please do. Mainly asking because the number of favourites, alerts and hits don't match your response in reviews. I was really excited by your response in the first chapter, but thanks anyway for the taking so much interest in my fic. :)**

**So thanks for reading and reviewing in the last chapters, I really appreciate it! See you next time guys! I wanna sleep now... 'yawn'**

**N6023**


	5. Something I Feel?

**Hey everyone! Another quick update! Also, thanks to those who have reviewed this fic until now :)**

**Oh, this chapter is for a special friend who wanted me to write a great chapter for her.**** ;)**

**Also, thanks to some reviewers, I realised 'Dark Void' in spanish translated into 'Vacio Oscuro'...and not 'Oscuro Vacio', so I'll be changing that. Sorry, my bad... :)**

**So there you go-**

**Chapter-5-Something I Feel?**

"I'll be prepared…..Vacio Oscuro. And remember my name, the one to defeat you will be…..shinigami, Uzumaki Naruto!," he loudly verbalized, the blonde bangs covering his forehead as he gave the creature his most serious look. It seemed to grin maniacally before being engulfed by the large kumon which began to decrease in size quickly.

Rangiku though….to say the least was flabbergasted! Naruto, the twelve year old 'man', was open accepting the challenge of a hollow…and kami knows how strong it could be. And considering the way he had manipulated a kumon to its advantage so skillfully…..she somehow doubted Naruto's decision.

'_But….seeing those eyes, that expression….he really does want this. Does this come from the need to be acknowledged, to prove himself to us….or is it this the battle instinct that he showed last night. It seems, he really does enjoy fighting…but I can't help but admire his confidence, his determination...his stubbornness,'_ she thought while staring at him as he continued to gaze at the spot where the kumon had been moments ago. Slowly her lips curled into a smirk….

'_Well damn….we have to train him seriously now I guess. He can't survive alone on just his instincts after all.'_

Meanwhile, Teuchi was staring at Naruto curiously, observing the blonde who was gazing up at the sky while Ayame was lost in her own thoughts as to how to cope up with this new problem.

_'So...Vacio Oscuro, time for me to prove myself. I'll prove to everyone that I'm not a deadlast, a loser...and I'm definitely passing the graduation exams this time. Most of all, I wouldn't let any hollow harm those precious to me, or my village,' _he mentally nodded to himself, this time things would be different.

"Oi Naruto!" turning his head, he noticed Teuchi standing besides Ayame. He started walking towards them, his lips curling down when he noticed Ayame staring at him with a frown on her face.

"Oji-san...I think we should send Mikoto-san to the hospital," he said while gazing at the Uchiha matriarch in his arms, strangely enjoying the warmth she was emanating.

"No need to do that Naruto-kun, I'll take it from here," they turned their heads to see Hiruzen land in front of them in his battle gear.

"Jiji? What are you doing here?" the whiskered blonde asked in surprise, he thought the hokage would be busy...taking care of the situation.

"I'm just a shadow clone Naruto-kun...the real one is coming with a squad of Anbu and several other jounins. The hollow this time caused quite a ruckus. You guys should hurry and leave, leave Mikoto-san here to me. I'll handle the rest," he spoke a bit urgently as Naruto nodded before quickly giving an unconscious Mikoto to him.

_'Please be safe Mikoto-san,'_ he thought when he felt himself his forearm being grabbed.

Turning back, he saw Teuchi holding him while Ayame was holding Rangiku's wrist before the group vanished in a shunpo.

**Timeskip: Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment: 5 Minutes Later**

"Naruto, are you insane?" he looked at Ayame's face in confusion as she spoke through gritted teeth. Currently, they were in the drawing room with Naruto back in his body while Shiroi, Teuchi and Rangiku were sitting on couches.

"What do you mean Ayame-chan?" he asked as her frown deepened while Teuchi too held a serious expression on his face.

"Why were you thinking on accepting that hollow's challenge? You do know that it has just been a day since you became a shinigami right?" she hissed with narrowed eyes, clearly she was unhappy about this whole thing.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked with seriousness, seated on the opposite side of her.

"What I'm trying to say Naruto...is that you forget about fighting that hollow," she said making his eyes widen.

"Why would you say that?" he asked heatedly making her glare back at him.

"Because it's for your own good! That hollow is very strong...I could sense its reiryoku reserves and it was clearly holding back on us. We had the element of surprise and thus were able to catch it off guard."

"I wouldn't back down," he replied instantaneously in a monotone voice as he bore his stare into her brown orbs.

"Stopping acting like a child Naruto!" Ayame loudly exclaimed, standing suddenly as she glared at him while Shiroi looked at the two with concern. Rangiku too kept quiet but was surprised with Ayame's outburst.

"Ayame, calm down," Teuchi said in a grim voice as he kept staring at the wall in front of him when she snapped.

"Tou-san, how can you expect me to calm down? You yourself know how strong that hollow can become! It's already way above other normal hollows and I can tell its a **menos **(Minus), it's no longer an ordinary hollow. You yourself saw the **Gillian **(Lowest Great Hollow) rescue it through the Negacion...it only means one thing that Vacio Oscuro is a special one, or else that Gillian wouldn't have come to aid him. And what's stopping us from predicting that the next time he shows himself, he's an **Adjuchas **(Intermediate Great Hollow) class menos. Only captain level ones are capable of facing those," her voice getting lower at the end as the full effect of what could be the consequences settled on them.

"And you Naruto-kun!" she turned her head, his eyes widening as he saw the concern in her deep brown orbs.

"You have been a shinigami for one day only. I really don't like saying this...but you can't handle that zanpakutou properly. Besides, your shinigami powers are only temporary. Even if you do manage to get proficient in the art of zanjutsu, still that zanpakutou would return to Rangiku-san eventually. What will you do then?" she asked loudly at the end while Naruto stared at the floor, his posture unmoving as Matsumoto too waited for his answer. She too knew that it was hopeless for Naruto to face that hollow, he just didn't have enough time to train himself as a shinigami. Nor could he use shikai or bankai...and with that being said he couldn't hope to face Vacio Oscuro at a later time, when most probably he would be much stronger.

"So you mean to say...," Naruto began as he broke the silence before continuing,"...that I should just concentrate on my ninja career. That's the reason you guys are training me for the month right? So that I can form stable chakra...and for that you guys are training me in controlling my reiryoku. You're training me in kenjutsu...or zanjutsu as you call it, to hone my reflexes and sharpen my skills in taijutsu too right? And me temporarily working as a shinigami would gain me experience which would give me an edge when my shinobi career begins, isn't that right oji-san?" Ayame, Matsumoto and Shiroi had their eyes widened in shock as they stared at the twelve year genius. He had deduced all that in one day!

_'Naruto...' _Rangiku's thoughts trailed as she gazed at the boy in immense surprise, who right now was staring at Teuchi with a dead serious expression on his face.

"Yes," was the only word the old chef mumbled as he looked to be deep in thought. Ayame though walked towards him before bending down to his level, putting her hands on his shoulders as she gazed softly at him.

"We only want what's best for you Naruto-kun," she spoke softly, offering him a loving smile as he stared at her. Standing up slowly, he walked over to a window; gazing at the children who were playing a game of tag. His eyes held sadness, pain as he stared at them...a look of determination overcoming those emotions in his oceanic blue eyes.

"Naruto-kun...," Shiroi mumbled sadly as she had watched his reflection on the window, not liking those haunted eyes.

"If I'll lose my shinigami powers...then so be it," he sighed before turning back to them, a blazing smirk on his face that sent chills down Rangiku, Shiroi and Ayame's spine.

"Then I'll simply face Oscuro as a shinobi. I have a high amount of reiryoku, I'll use that to my advantage and will learn kido. I'll become the first being to simultaneously use ninjutsu and kido! If I can't slice it with a zanpakutou...then I'll just beat it to a bloody pulp with my own fists! But I wouldn't let it harm anyone in MY village! If I want to be the hokage, I'll have to protect my village...be it by being a shinobi or a shinigami, I don't care! These spiritual energy reserves of mine are both a curse as well as a gift. So don't you try pulling me out of this, cause I'm as stuck in my decision as a stick up a Hyuga's ass!" he spoke loudly at the end with narrowed eyes.

...

...

Pin drop silence followed his little speech as everyone except Teuchi gazed at him with 'WTF' expressions on their faces making him blush a bit in embarrassment as he found his eyebrows twitching.

"And just forget about using Kikanshinki or that Kaiketou...whatever that is, on me. Cause I ain't forgetting anything!" he finished with a 'hmff' as they continued to stare at him with an expression of total impossibility.

"What...what will you do if we refuse to train you Naruto," all eyes turned to Teuchi, shock clearly evident in them.

"Tou-san! How can you sa-"

"Silence Ayame!" he exclaimed loudly as he continued to stare into Naruto's wide eyes.

"How can you do this Teuchi-san?" Rangiku exclaimed with a frown as she glared at him.

"I can and I will, do remember that I'm the substitute shinigami of Konoha Rangiku-san. Naruto clearly isn't thinking with his head right now. Blind heroics will only get him killed," he spoke calmly while staring at the whiskered blonde whose eyes were narrowed at him.

Rangiku's frown deepened at this as she turned to gaze at Naruto, her heart clenching as she noticed the brief flash of pain cross his eyes before they were clouded by anger.

"Fine then! It wouldn't be the first time anyway. But do remember this oji-san, I still wouldn't chicken out of this. I will gain control of my reiryoku and if Oscuro ever threatens Konoha, I wouldn't just stand like an idiot. And besides, now that I do know how reiryoku feels...I can manipulate it in my human form too!" he spoke with fiercely when everybody's eyebrows except Teuchi's lift in surprise.

"Oh you can...why not show us this glimpse of your reiryoku as you stand here in your body?" he asked with a hidden smirk behind his folded hands.

"I'm not an idiot old man," Naruto muttered with a frown as he closed his eyes while Ayame, Shiroi and Matsumoto watched him intently.

Teuchi's smirk widened when he felt the felt the familiar abrupt increase in Naruto's reiatsu while the other three's eyes widened upon noticing minute sparks of electricity crackle around his body. Shiroi immediately found herself gasping for air when Ayame moved in front of her and increased her own reiatsu making her take a deep breath in relief.

_'Is that...lightning?'_ both Rangiku and Ayame thought in surprise as they saw the purple-bluish glow reflecting off his form due to the current sparks.

"See? I can increase my spiritual pressure at will," he said with a smirk, gradually decreasing the output when a look of confusion replaced that upon noticing the wide eyed expressions of Rangiku, Shiroi and Ayame.

"What?"

"Naruto, i-is that lightning?" Matsumoto stuttered as she pointed her index finger at him. He looked down as a look of realisation dawned on his face.

"Oh this, yeah...this has happened to me in the past too," he spoke making Teuchi's eyes widen.

"What do you mean it has happened before?"

"Well, I don't know how to explain but...whenever I got super angry or something, this lightening would come out. And that night of the Uchiha massacre, you wouldn't believe how much lightning had come of my body to hit Itachi...that was the main reason I was able to save Mikoto-san," he said, his hand going over his chest as if he was remembering something while Teuchi just sighed.

"Alright! Relax everyone, I was just kidding. Of course I'm gonna train Naruto!" he spoke with a chuckle making Ayame and Shiroi sigh in relief.

"Of course I knew you were acting Teuchi-san! Did you really think you could fool me?" Rangiku spoke cheerfully as she nodded to herself.

"You were the one who had the most animated response Rangiku-san," Naruto deadpanned making her blush in embarrassment as others chuckled at the two.

"That was so meeaan Naruto-kun! I was only defending you!" she said childishly, giving him a cute pout making him blush a bit.

_'Yeah, come to think of it...she has been doing nothing but encouraging me since yesterday,'_ he thought before giving her his rare true smile.

"Thanks Rangiku-san," he muttered in a low tone while Matsumoto was caught off guard as she found herself unable to avert her gaze from him, a blush dusting her cheeks.

_'T-That smile...,'_ her heart strangely skipped a bit at that when she finally averted her gaze. Naruto though was oblivious to her thoughts as he turned to Teuchi while Ayame looked at the exchange with a light frown.

_'D-Does Naruto-kun like her?'_ she thought, biting her lower lip.

"Oji-san, I'm sure you're upto something! I know you have some plan, so spill it!" Naruto said while pointing at the old chef.

"Well it's simple Naruto, you see...besides the powers Rangiku-san gave to you, you have your own shinigami powers," his eyes widened upon hearing that. Of all the things, he definitely hadn't expected Teuchi to say that.

"I have my own powers?" he asked hesitantly, not sure of what the old man was saying.

"Yeah, the fact that your reiatsu produces lightning element is definitely not one of my abilities. It comes from your own soul," Matsumoto spoke to him, suddenly serious making him nod enthusiastically.

"So I can have my own zanpakutou then?" he said hopefully making them nod.

"YEAH!" he pumped his fist in the air, an ecstatic expression on his face.

"I'm awesome! I'm so gonna rub Oscuro's face in the mud!" Teuchi sighed while the three females giggled at his antics.

"Can it kid. You're jumping the gun...it's not that simple. First we'll have to wait for Rangiku-san's powers to return to her and only then we can explore your own powers," he verbalised making Naruto nod.

"In the meantime during the month, we're gonna train you into the ground. And it will be like this...Ayame will teach you zanjutsu and kido while Rangiku-san will mainly aid you in what shinobi call taijutsu. Also-" he stopped abruptly when a black butterfly flew in through the window to land on his finger.

_'That's a jigokucho!'_ the blonde lieutenant thought in surprise.

"Rangiku-san, Hokage-dono is calling for you. It seems he wants to instate you as a shinobi of the leaf," he spoke making Naruto and Matsumoto look at him in surprise.

"Me?"

"Her?"

They both exclaimed making Teuchi nod before he answered.

"Since you'll be staying here for quite sometime Rangiku-san, it would be better if you become a shinobi. Besides, the special gigai I gave you allows you to move at amazing speeds...so you'll be quite formidable in taijutsu. Besides you can use kido and state it as another branch of ninjutsu...so most probably you'll become a jounin. I know the action and thrill of being a shinobi would be inviting to say the least."

"Ooh, I really do want to try this shinobi thing," she spoke before clasping her hands in excitement.

"Naruto, show the way!" Teuchi exclaimed with a devious grin.

"What! Why me?" he whined when he found Rangiku's arm slung over his shoulder.

"Oh come on Naruto-kun! Can't you show this poor lady where to go?" she asked sensually, batting her eyelashes cutely making him blush furiously. Her noticeable bust was pressed against his arm while he could see her cleavage.

Which straight guy could resist this?

_'Why me!'_ he thought while inwardly crying anime tears.

"Fine then!" he suddenly exclaimed with a frown as he started walking towards the door, pulling himself out of her grip while she followed him with a bright smile on her face.

"Those two are really something," Teuchi muttered to himself with a sigh while Ayame had a saddened expression on her face as she had her own set of thoughts lingering in her troubled mind.

**Konoha: Outside Ichiraku's Apartment**

"What took you so long?" Naruto exclaimed with an angry expression, not that he was actually. But he couldn't help but feel strangly hot under the collar whenever she was _'ahem'..._'close' to him.

"Why are you always angry with me?" she asked while faking a sad expression on her face. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw her sad.

"Ah, but I'm not angry with you!" he exclaimed frantically, waving his arms in defense.

"You're lying!" she exclaimed with a down look on her face.

_'I don't like that look on her beautiful face. Wait! Beautiful?'_ he thought in surprise, outwardly shaking his head to get rid of confusing thoughts.

"No I'm not lying," this time he said calmly while Matsumoto could notice passerby's giving him cold looks while some neighbour shopkeepers were directly glaring at him making her frown. On the other hand, she was getting looks of confusion along with lecherous stares...yeah, this was something she was used to.

"It's just..." he started making her look at him before he continued,"...so much has happened since yesterday, and I'm still coming to terms with this. It's not like things were easy for me before you know. I just want some time."

She smiled softly at him before bending down while he gazed at his feet.

"I understand Naruto. It must be tough for you," he snapped his head up upon noticing the complete change in her tone. It was sweet, melodic...comfortable to his ears and troubled mind. His heart almost came to a stop upon seeing her beautiful face up so close while she put her hands on his shoulders, her blue eyes soft as she smiled at him sweetly.

"And I admire your confidence, determination and the way you have handled things so far. I believe that you can do it. So cheer up!" she exclaimed cheerfully, grinning at him as she squeezed his shoulders while people around them in the streets were giving her shocked looks. What was she doing interacting with 'him'? Didn't she know? They began to murmur amongst each other while Matsumoto and Naruto remained oblivious to the surroundings around them.

Naruto however was touched...deeply touched that she believed in him, that she was comforting him. She admired him! She was smiling at him! And so he couldn't help but grin foxily at her while her cheeks flushed as she gazed at his features.

"Thanks Rangiku-chan!" he exclaimed with his heart leaping with joy while she blushed furiously...and probably for the first time in her life. He was totally alright, and ready to fight!

_'Rangiku...-chan?'_ she thought in surprise before slowly a warm smile crept up her face. And strangely, she was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Yosh! Let's go!" she chirped before standing up. Just as they were about to jump, Rangiku felt a hand on her shoulder and she immediately knew what was going on.

"Hey miss, why are you talking with this...thing? Don't you know him?" she turned around to notice a man, having a lecherous grin on his face while behind him were several others. All of their eyes glued to her cleavage making her sigh.

_'Probably a gang or something,'_ she thought before giving the man an innocent smile, making him grin wider as he squeezed her shoulder. Naruto though was getting angry, what was their problem anyway? First they hate him for no apparent reason, and then they prevent anyone else from talking to him. And seeing that perverted grin on that man's face, he knew they were upto no good.

"Oh, but I find him very cute, kind, funny, and sweet young man. I don't see what's wrong with him," she said, smiling at them innocently while Naruto's cheeks turned into a bright shade of red. The man in front of her though scowled, still haven't left her shoulder while the others behind him growled. They started to move towards Naruto when the one holding Rangiku signalled them to stop, so apparently he was the leader.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the whiskered blonde said in a hushed voice as he nudged her in the ribs lightly.

"You said something you trash!" the 'leader' growled as he turned his head towards Naruto while Matsumoto gently pried his hand away from her shoulder, still smiling at him. Naruto though only narrowed his cold eyes, it would be a cold day in hell before he would be scared of some perverted idiots.

"You shouldn't associate yourself with such demons miss. You should join us, we could give you a much better company," he verbalised with a suggestive smile while Rangiku could feel herself boiling with anger, still a forced smile on her face.

"I'm not a demon!" Naruto growled as he glared at them while clenching his fists when he felt Matsumoto's hand on his shoulder making him look at her in confusion.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass. Besides, Naruto-kun is much better in bed than any of you will ever be!" she again spoke cheerfully.

...

...

...

Jaws dropped, eyes bulged; those who had heard her held comical stunned expressions on their faces. A a mysterious gust swept by as Naruto stared at her open mouthed, his face a classical tomato shade of red.

_'Please...oh kami please...please say that she didn't just say what I think I heard her say,'_ the blonde thought when he heard the 'leader' suddenly erupt into full blown laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAAHAHA! N-Nice one! Really! AHAHAHAHAHA! You must be joking! HIM? C'mon, he's just an idiot who c-"

**WHAM!**

...

THUD!

Everybody stared in yet another moment of shock. That pretty woman had just delivered a jaw breaking uppercut to the apparent 'leader', and he had went flying with his broken teeth flying in different directions making everyone else cringe. Naruto though stared at the unconscious man in shock, his jaw was probably dislocated now.

"Does anyone else has something to say?" Matsumoto asked with a pissed off expression on her face as she leaked out her reiatsu. The rest of the 'gang' and other people cowered under the pressure they were feeling as they just shook their heads.

"Good!" she said cheerfully, her demeanor taking a one-eighty turn before she turned to Naruto.

"Let's go Naruto-kun," she spoke with a smile before taking the shocked blonde's hand. Giving one last glare to the cowering thugs behind her, they jumped towards the roof.

**Konoha: Rooftops**

"You didn't have to do that you know," he spoke as they began to jump through the rooftops towards the hokage's tower.

"Yeah right, and let them insult you?" she spoke while rolling her eyes as his lips curled up in a light smile.

"But why do you care? It's been only a day since we've met after all," he muttered as the cool breeze rubbed their forms.

"Not all people all like those villagers Naruto-kun. There are those who care for you, always remember that," she uttered with a smile while he nodded.

"Arigatou Rangiku-chan. I'm really glad I met you," he verbalised with a warm smile while she couldn't help but blush at hearing him call her with such closeness.

"Here we are," both of them landed in front of the tower as he pointed her towards the entrance. She gazed at the building when he spoke.

"Alright, you know where's my apartment right? I have somewhere to go, so see you later Rangiku-chan!" he said with a mock salute, a grin on his face which soon vanished when he noticed her eyes shining with mischief.

He began to take several steps backward, a forced smile on his face while she smirked at him.

"I think you deserve a reward Naruto-kun," she spoke seductively, swaying her hips deliberately as she stalked him like a prey.

"Gotta run!" he exclaimed with a blush before turning around...to find her?

"There...,"she trailed after grabbing his shoulders before bending down to kiss him on the cheeks. Naruto's whole world froze as he stood there, touching his cheeks as warmness flushed his entire system. She giggled at his awestruck expression before ruffling his blonde locks affectionately.

"See you later Naruto-kun," Rangiku waved in front of his face as she started to walk towards the entrance while slowly a smile grazed Naruto's face.

"Later Rangiku-chan," he whispered softly as he stared at her retreating form.

_'She's definitely different than anyone I've ever seen. In just one day, I feel so close to her...it's like we've known each other for a long time. I can't help but feel we're so alike. She's what they call an adult, so strong and a vice captain of soul society, yet she still remains so jovial, carefree and sometimes acts just like me,' _he pondered while the smile just refused to leave his face. Yesterday, he was irritated by her snide remarks, now he seemed to enjoy her company. Unknown to him though, Matsumoto too was having similar thoughts.

"Now let's see...," a finger under his chin as he adopted a concentrated expression on his face,"...oh right! I should check up on Mikoto-san!" he exclaimed before taking off towards the hospital.

**Konoha's General Hospital: 15 Minutes Later**

After transforming himself into a random civilian, Naruto had asked the receptionist of the room in which Mikoto was admitted earlier that day.

_'Thank Kami that I can atleast do the transformation technique,'_ he thought with a sigh as he walked through the corridors, searching for her room.

"Let's see, it should be around the next corner," he muttered to himself, henged into a middle aged man as he turned around the corner to stop suddenly.

_'Is that Sasuke-teme?'_ he thought, seeing the Uchiha enter the ward where Mikoto was currently in. Reaching the door, he stood outside while he could hear their voices due to his sharpened senses.

"What happened Kaa-san?" he was Sasuke alright. Naruto could define that irritating monotone voice anywhere. What was wrong with that idiot? The least he could do was show some emotion, some concern for his mother.

"I'm fine Sasuke-kun! It was just a small attack," he smiled upon hearing that voice. That was Mikoto-san, that sweet, melodic and cheerful voice.

"If it was just a small attack, how come you're here in the hospital? You're a jounin while they say that you were found unconscious by Hokage-sama," Naruto heard Sasuke say in a cold voice making him clench his fists in anger at his stuck-up behaviour.

"Being a jounin doesn't mean that you can take on anybody Sasuke-kun," she replied calmly while Naruto could sense a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"Hn, stop making excuses Kaa-san. You're weak, just like Itachi said. You yourself said that it was a small attack, probably a thug or a thief and yet you are here in the hospital. Admit it Kaa-san, you're weak. Just...just forget it. I'm going to train. It seems you only want to spend your remaining life crying over that night instead of helping me in killing that traitor," Naruto could feel himself losing it, he could feel his reiatsu leaking out if the uncomfortable faces of the other people around him was any indication.

_'That bastard!'_ he thought with gritted teeth as he stood on the right side of the door, his back on the wall when the door opened. He felt this primal urge to just kill this nuisance of a human being once and for all as Sasuke walked in the opposite direction with a scowl on his face.

_'Alright Naruto, just calm down. Take deep breaths...yeah, just like that,'_ he calmed himself, taking deep breaths to calm himself before he nodded. Putting on a smile, he pushed himself off the wall before entering the room through the open door.

The sight that greeted him immediately wiped the fake smile off his face. There she was, her palms on her face as she quietly sobbed to herself. His heart constricted painfully as he noticed tears streaming down her chin.

Ever since that night, when Naruto had taken the hit meant for her; saving her in the process...obviously, things had went downhill for the two Uchihas. Sasuke had gone cold and reserved, just like Itachi while Mikoto herself tried to pull herself out of those painful memories. All her relatives, her husband...murdered in one night had put a deep scar on her heart. Sasuke was the only one left to her, and seeing the way he just behaved must be painful for the Uchiha matriarch.

Not so surprisingly, Naruto and her had created a deep bond between themselves. Seeing that Sasuke was being a jerk, he had taken matter into his hands and often went to meet her in secret; with that explaining his usual sudden disappearances from the academy. They both enjoyed each other's comapanies, laughing in each other's presence. Naruto didn't know what kind of bond or relationship he shared with her, if it was a mother-son one or just friendship. But he sure as hell wasn't going to abandon her in these times of turmoil, she was very precious to him and often comforted him whenever he was feeling down.

Turning back, he quietly closed the door, locking it before releasing the henge as he sighed to himself.

"Mikoto-san...," he muttered in a low tone when she snapped her head up. Her eyes widened while her tears went flying.

"W-Who...," she exclaimed while wiping her eyes, clearing her blurry vision due to the tears.

"N-Naruto-kun?" she spoke in surprise while frantically wiping her remaining tears as the blonde walked towards her.

"I...I, w-when did y-you...," she trailed when he had suddenly hugged her, surprising her as he had his arms around her neck.

"It's alright Mikoto-san, I know what you're going through," he whispered softly in her ear when more tears brimmed at the corner of her eyes. He began to gently rub her back as she burst into sobs, clutching onto his form tightly. Naruto could feel the warm liquid staining his jumpsuit as she cried on his shoulders, moisture itself gathered in his cerulean blue eyes as he tightened his hold on her.

_'No one was there to comfort me when I needed it, but I wouldn't let you go through the same Mikoto-san. I know how it feels,'_ he pondered as she continued to sob, her cries of anguish and emotional torment being muffled by the fabric.

After several minutes, she calmed down slowly as both of them were lost in their own thoughts, reveling in each other's warmth.

"Are you okay Mikoto-san?" he asked a bit hesitantly, feeling that the hug was getting longer than...it should be.

"H-Hai Naruto-kun," she mumbled as he slowly leaned back, both of them feeling odd at the loss of comforting warmth.

"I'm feeling much better now Naruto-kun," she spoke with a heart melting smile making Naruto blush a bit as he grinned back.

"So, how are you Mikoto-san?" he asked when her smile brightened at his question while he couldn't help but frown mentally.

_'And that jerk should've asked her this rather than calling her weak!'_

"I'm fine, thank you Naruto-kun," she smiled sweetly at him. Mikoto still couldn't believe how mature the boy...no, young man in front of her was. So many times he had comforted her, aided her...he was such a nice soul. Whenever talking to him, she felt as if her equal adult was in front of her. He was so much opposite of Sasuke, so bright, so kind, considerate of other's feelings...

_'And cute too. I wonder how he would look when he grows old,'_ she thought with a light blush, when suddenly her eyes widened as a flashback invaded her mind.

_'That face!'_ she thought in alarm upon remembering that face: blonde hair, those electric blue eyes, whisker marks...no way...

"N-Naruto-kun...the one who saved me, w-was it you?" she stuttered with wide eyes when Naruto somewhat stiffened at her question.

"N-No, I was in the academy remember?" he said while laughing nervously, rubbing the back of his head while she narrowed her eyes.

_'I think he's hiding something. And surely I wasn't seeing things, even if Hokage-sama told me. My sharingan couldn't just fool me like that. Who else has whisker marks? And with the combination of blonde hair and blue eyes?'_ she mused when Naruto decided to change the subject.

"Mikoto-san, when will you get out of here? I don't want to come here everyday to meet you," he said with his nose crinkled up, oh those aweful smell of medicines! She just giggled at his face, you couldn't help but adore this boy.

"I'll be released today Naruto-kun," she spoke gently making him sigh in relief.

"Hey guess what! I've found a way to solve my chakra problem!" he exclaimed with glee while her eyes shined with excitement.

"Really? How did you do that?" her eyes holding curiosity and mirth when the blonde smirked as he motioned her to come closer.

"It's a secret!" he whispered in her ear with a grin making her pout as he started laughing at her. From a third person's view, really it looked like as if the two were best friends. Sometimes Naruto would climb to her level and act maturely, while sometimes she would stoop to his level and act childishly.

"Thank you Naruto-kun," Mikoto spoke with a warm smile as she ruffled his hair affectionately making his heart skip a beat at seeing that smile.

"No problem Mikoto-san! And I'll definitely pass the academy graduation exams this time!" she nodded with a smile.

"Goodluck Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek making the whiskered blonde blush.

_'Wow, two kisses in a day! I'm lucky!'_

**So this one was mainly a filler I guess, but important neverthless. Next chapter should probably contain a half month timeskip. And I hope that special friend liked this chapter, ne? (You're not a freak lol!) :)**

**So wait for the next update you guys and review! Ciao~**

**N6023**


	6. Ordinary Routine

**PLEASE oh my faithful readers, forgive this idiot ungrateful of an author for his insolence. SORRY for the late update, my exams...'**_**'ahem' **_**nope, this excuse is getting lame., but nevertheless my exams were going on and just finished yesterday. So I typed this in one day, hope this isn't any poor excuse of a chapter :)**

**Chapter-6-Ordinary Routine**

"Thank you Naruto-kun," Mikoto spoke with a warm smile as she ruffled his hair affectionately making his heart skip a beat at seeing that smile.

"No problem Mikoto-san! And I'll definitely pass the academy graduation exams this time!" she nodded with a smile.

"Goodluck Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek making the whiskered blonde blush.

_'Wow, two kisses in a day! I'm lucky!'_

**Timeskip: Konoha: Naruto's Apartment: 10 PM**

"Damn you old man...I'll get you for this someday," a raspy voice broke the silence in the empty apartment as Naruto tiredly open the front door with a click.

Dragging his feet to the living room, he flipped off his shinobi sandals carelessly before switching the lights on. His eyelids were heavy while his shoulders were slumped down when a growl echoed throughout the apartment making him sigh.

"I'm hungry...damn you Ayame-chan," he muttered while clutching his stomach before walking towards the kitchen as he started preparing instant ramen all the while mumbling random curses to the Ichiraku family.

"I shouldn't have gone there in the first place. It was my first day, atleast they could've gone easy on me...my whole body huuuurts," he groaned as he held his lower back.

Earlier, after meeting Mikoto in the hospital; Naruto had gone back to the Ichiraku's to have a bowl of ramen when they had dragged him to the underground training ground. He shuddered upon remembering that gleam in the old man's eyes when he had declared that his official training had begun.

_'Oh the horror!'_ the blonde mentally whined as he waited for the ramen to get boiled, his least favourite part. They had begun with the simple training methods: pushups, crutches, running laps around the area's perimeter. Considering his stamina, it would've been easier for the whiskered blonde...but his Ayame-chan, oh so sweet Ayame-chan!

She had oh so gently wrapped those weight belts around his wrists and legs. They were basic training equipment mind you, but still really heavy and add to the fact that Teuchi had pushed him to the point where he could practically hear his muscles crying in agony, all the while cursing him- 'FUCK YOU SHITHEAD!'

After an almost inaudible vow of 'Itadakimasu', he began to wolf down his ramen while thinking of ways to get back at the torturous duo.

"Ahh! Nothing better than a stomach full of ramen!" he exclaimed while patting his stomach when suddenly his door was knocked quite roughly, startling him. He was immediately on guard now.

_'Damn it! I'm extremely exhausted now, I don't think I can handle any drunk idiot. Should I just leave?'_ he thought while slowly taking backward steps towards the window behind him when again the door was knocked harshly.

"Naruutoooo! Ooopen the doooor! It's cooold!" a drunk female voice peirced the silence making Naruto's eyes widened.

_'Rangiku-san!'_ he thought before hurriedly scurrying towards the door, the kunai still in his hands just in case it was some sort of trick.

Opening the door cautiously, he ignored the cold breeze for the sight in front of him.

"Wooah!" she exclaimed as Naruto watched her hand pass through thin air, where the door was supposed to be. His eyes widened as she began to fall towards him, being unbalanced because of her...well, clearly she was drunk.

"Rang-mphh!" his voice became muffled due to...

THUD!

...her falling on him.

"Hehehe! Sorry Narutooo-kun!" she spoke while giggling, unaware of the blonde's condition beneath her. Slowly lifting herself up, she heard a vocal sharp intake of breath. Gazing down, she noticed Naruto panting, his face flushed as he stared at her with widened eyes.

"Ohh! I'm sorryyy, did my breasts suffocate youuu!" she spoke sluggishly with a teary eyed pout making his heart skip a beat. Her blonde locks were sprawled on his face while he stared into her hazy sky blue eyes.

"N-No, I'm fine," he spoke after averting his gaze when she began to caress his whisker cheeks making him blush a bright shade of red as he turned his head to stare at her in surprise.

"Are youuu bluushinng?" she spoke with a smile making him sputter incoherent words as he tried to get up, but it seemed Matsumoto seemed content laying on top of him.

"R-Rangiku-san, we have to get up. You're gonna make the apartment cold," he verbalised while trying to gently push her by grabbing her shoulders. He grunted in exhaustion as his muscles were already at their limit.

"As long as we are hot, it woouldn't matter," she spoke huskily while Naruto could feel his pants getting tighter.

_'Damn it,'_ he mentally sighed when an idea popped in his mind. Putting his hands in his pant's pockets, he took out a black glove with a white skull before pressing it to his body.

"There, let's get you up," his voice now baritone, Matsumoto's cheeks turned red when she found herself being lifted gently by Naruto's spiritual form. Slinging her arm over his shoulder, he walked her to the living room before making her sit on the couch when she again giggled.

Walking back, he reached the open door to find several bulky bags laying on the floor.

_'What has she been doing anyway?'_ the blonde thought before entering his body. Picking up the bags, he closed the door before carring those heavy bags to the living room all the while ignoring his screaming muscles.

"Ughh!" he grunted, releasing those bags before turning to glare menacingly at Rangiku who was currently staring at him with a smile.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked heatedly with narrowed eyes.

"Why did you go back in your body so soon? You look so hooot in that!" she pouted making him blush. Shaking his head, Naruto walked towards her.

"Rangiku-san, I'm serious. At this time, you were there out...drunk, and alone. I thought you were at oji-san's apartment. Do you know what could've happened out there?" she adopted a thinking pose with her index finger under her chin.

"Ah, one guy did try to rape me!" she exclaimed with a grin like it didn't affect her in any way while Naruto's eyes widened at hearing that.

"Shit! T-Then, um...are you alright?" he asked with concern reflecting in his oceanic blue eyes making her heart flutter which she just ignored in her drunken state.

"Of cooourse! I just punched that guuuy and then...he didn't get up. I shouldn't have hit him so haaaard!" she again pouted making him sigh as he chuckled to himself. No longer having the strength to stand, he just sat down cross-legged on the carpet making her raise an eyebrow.

Rubbing his right eye, he stared absent mindedly through the window as Matsumoto too became uncharacteristically quite.

"So, what's in those bags?" he asked, too tired to check them himself.

"Oh, our fooood supply!" she chirped while doing animated gestures making Naruto raise his eyebrows.

"Food supply?" he asked with curiosity when she giggled before hiccuping making him chuckle.

"You can't l-live on raaamen Naruto-kun! You have to eaaat vege...vegetables too, the greeeen o-ones," his eyes widened as she smiled at him through half lidded eyes. She did that for him?

"Y-You don't need to do that. I can live on ramen easily, and it contains vegetables too. And besides, you don't need to spend your money on me," he spoke as a frown appeared on her drunk expression.

"And where did you get the money from anyway?"

"Ohh...the old pervert gave it to me!" she replied before speaking again quickly.

"And youuu have to eaaat those vegetables. It's f-for you that I bou...that I bought so much. I mostly r-remain on d-diet," she stated in between her hiccups as warmth flushed Naruto's body. She had used her money to buy something for him. It had been only one day since he had met her...and still she does something like he's close to her. He had to survive on ramen considering the shopkeepers would sell him vegetables and fruits at extremely high prices.

"Thanks Rangiku-chan," he spoke in a low tone, giving her a true warm smile as a pink hue covered her cheeks. She nodded with a smile when he asked her.

"Have you eaten something?"

"Nope! I'm huuuungryyy!" Naruto sighed as she pouted like a child. Standing up lazily, he started walking towards the kitchen.

_'No more sake for you from now on Rangiku-chan.'_

**TIMESKIP: 15 Days Later: Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment**

"Ahh...n-no more...I can't p-push any f-further Ayame-chan."

"C'mon Naruto-kun, harder...c'mon push. Push harder!"

"W-We have b-been doing...this f-for an hour now. I c-can't go on...any f-further."

"No...you can do it. Try harder...that's my tiger, c'mon! Go deeper!"

"N-No more...I...I..."

THUD!

Here we find in the underground training area, Ayame and Naruto doing..._'ahem'_...actually...

"Hey Shiroi-san, if you had closed your eyes and just listened, then you would've thought that they were having sex," Rangiku, who along with Shiroi were sitting far away spoke making her blush.

"Rangiku-san!" Shiroi exclaimed with a blush making the blonde lieutenant, who was right now eating popcorn look at her innocently.

Away from them were both Ayame and Naruto, the latter right now laying flat on the ground as he panted to regain his breath.

"Alright, now that's three sets of pushups today. From tomorrow, we're gonna make it four," she spoke while signifying four with her fingers making Naruto groan. He didn't even had the strength to argue with her.

_'Slavedriver!' _he mentally thought as slowly his breathing returned to normal.

"Stand up Naruto, now that we're done with the warm up. Let's do the zanjutsu part ne?" she said with an innocent smile.

"W-What? I just finished doing three hundred pushups not minutes ago!" he exclaimed, miraculously having the energy to jump comically and yell at her.

"Stop whining. Just use the **Gokon Tekko** (Soul Apprehension Gauntlet) and get out of your body," she stated while taking out her own zanpakutou making his eyes widen.

"Hey hey hey HEY! Atleast give me some few minutes, my shoulders are numb here!" he exclaimed while waving his hands frantically as she took her stance.

"Ten seconds is all you've got to get ready," Ayame verbalised with a serious expression on his face as Naruto took several steps back, his arms slumped at his sides when he turned his head.

"Rangiku-chan help me!"

"Best of luck Naruto-kun! I know you can do it!" his eyebrows twitched as she waved at him with a grin.

"The HELL I can do it dattebayo!"

"You've five seconds Naruto."

"AND CHECK YOUR CLOCK DAMMIT!" he pointed with an accusing finger at Ayame.

"Three"

"ALRIGHT I'M DOING IT!"

"Two"

"WHERE IS IT? I CAN'T FIND IT!"

"One"

"OH MY GOD! I LEFT IT BACK AT THE APARTMENT!"

"Zer-Really?" Ayame asked while tilting her head.

"OF COURSE NOT! I'm outta here!" her eyebrows twitched as Naruto yelled over his shoulder while running away from her.

"GET BACK HERE!" she yelled before shunpo'ing to appear in front of him making him skid to a halt.

"Sheesh alright! I'm doing it!" he grumbled before taking out the glove before pressing it to his chest.

"Yosh!" he exclaimed in his adult shinigami form before taking out Haineko, his body laying behind him. Not uttering another word, she dashed towards him before going for a slash at blurred speeds with dust inducing behind her.

His eyes focused, he blocked her strike with his zanpakutou, the sonorous sound of metal clashing reverberating throughtout the arena as Naruto struggled under the force she was putting.

Ayame smirked as she saw his shoulders trembling under the pressure, which were already exhausted due to the earlier workout. Sparks flew around the clashed swords as the blonde gritted his teeth, now on his knees.

"D-Damn it!" he exclaimed, his one eye closed as Ayame continued to increase the pressure. Letting go, he vanished in a blur just at the last second before her zanpakutou sliced thin air.

"Oh...your execution of shunpo has improved," Ayame spoke as several meters away from her, was a crouched Naruto who was panting with beads of sweat dripping down the side of his face. Haineko was stabbed into the dirt, supporting both of his shoulders by putting his hands on the tip of the hilt.

"Ayame-chan...I r-really can't go on any further. My muscles are burning, I'm at my limit. This...is too much!" he spoke while panting when he rolled sideways quickly, leaving Haineko with Ayame's zanpakutou passing through thin air,where his neck was a minute ago.

"That's the point of your training, you have to exceed your limitations...both physically and mentally," she uttered while pointing her zanpakutou at him with Haineko besides her, stabbed into the ground.

Slowly standing up shakily, Ayame smirked when she felt him raising his reiatsu. She then again dashed towards him, holding back some of her speed but was taken for the loop when Naruto too bolted towards her at amazing speeds, considering his exhaustion.

_'What is he planning?'_ she thought, surprised that he would attack head on without any zanpakutou in hand. Rearing her weapon, she went for a thrust at the side of his mid-section as Naruto drew closer.

_'What the...,'_ she thought in surprise when the blonde had blurred out of her vision just when her zanpakutou was inches away. Through the corner of her eyes, she noticed him shunpo'ing towards Haineko as a small smirk played across her lips.

Grabbing the hilt, the blonde pulled it roughly...his shoulder muscles screaming in protest as Haineko was lifted from the dirt. His oceanic orbs though zoomed out in reflex when Ayame appeared in a blur in front of him with the cold metal of her zanpakutou approaching his arm.

"**Sho! **(Thrust)" he exclaimed with his palm pointed at her making her skid back with impressive force. She snapped her head up, staring at his panting form in surprise.

_'He was able to pull that off...I didn't expect him to master the art of incantation abandonment to this degree in kido, even though he can only do this in only the first hado spell,'_ she thought with her expression changing from surprise to acceptance.

"Wow, that was good, ne Rangiku-san?" Shiroi spoke with a smile as Matsumoto nodded besides her enthusiastically.

"Yep yep! I knew...he had talent," she said while eating dango now making the silver haired plus sweatdrop.

"So, you wanna play in kido huh?" Ayame verbalised with a devilish smirk making Naruto sweat bullets in nervousness.

"Ahehe...well, let's just stick to zanjutsu ne?" he offered with a warm smile while scratching the back of his head.

"**Hado no Sanjuni: Ōkasen** ( Way of Destruction 32: Yellow Fire Flash)."

_'DAMN YOU!'_

Her zanpakutou held horizontally, a yellow orb formed in front of the katana before it widened along the length of the metal. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the yellow energy glowing brighter with each passing second before it fired off a yellow blast of energy in the form of a wide horizontal arc at him.

Seeing the destructive attack approach him at lightning speeds, he spurted in the opposite direction as the attack chased him with Ayame in tow. Using several flash steps, he darted towards a large tree before running up it's trunk using his momentum. Using the wooden bark as a springboard, he jumped backwards higher into the air just in time to avoid the energy blast which had completely decimated the tree.

Ayame watched in amusement as the blonde tossed Haineko higher into the air, himself being in midair.

"**Hado no Shi: Byakurai! **(Way of Destruction 4: White Lightning)," her eyes widened in immense surprise when he pointed the index finger of his left hand in her direction to fire a concentrated white lightning bolt.

Seeing his attack bolt towards her, he whispered...

"**Bakudo no Yon: Hainawa **(Way of Binding 4: Crawling Rope)," before a rope of yellow spiritual energy extended from his right hand to wrap around Haineko's hilt which currently was sailing above him in midair. Gazing down, he was not so surprised to see Ayame use **Seki** (Repulsion) Bakudo to block the beam of white lightning.

"Take this!" he exclaimed while pulling the yellow rope with all his strength, making Haineko sail towards Ayame at **thundering** speeds before he released the rope.

_'Using the crawling rope bakudo to pull his zanpakutou instead of it's common use of binding, he sure is tweaky,'_ Matsumoto thought with a smirk as she saw Haineko descend towards Ayame.

Having just blocked his previous attack using seki, Ayame barely had time to use another kido as she flash stepped just in time to avoid the sharp projectile.

"Oh come on!" Naruto exclaimed in a raspy voice as he landed on his unstable feet, panting heavily in exhaustion before falling backwards tlay on the ground.

"I didn't taught you any bakudo spell, then I suppose Rangiku-san was the one," opening his eyes, he saw Ayame's amused face.

"Yeah...Rangiku-chan taught me that, a real handy one," he muttered while wiping the sweat off his forehead. Bending down, Ayame placed her hands over his body as she started to heal him.

Naruto though realised something as he noticed her healing his body.

"Hey Ayame-chan, I wanted to ask this before but when you heal me...I also feel my reiatsu getting replished besides healing my wounds of course. Why is that?" he asked with a confused expression.

"Well that's because in healing kido, the user first replinishes the patients reiatsu and then using his own reiatsu in combination with the user's one, his body is healed," Matsumoto spoke as he turned his head to see her and Shiroi walking towards them.

"You did great today Naruto-kun!" the silver haired plus exclaimed with a smile as Naruto turned his eyes towards her, a sad expression coating his face as he gazed at her.

"Shiroi-chan...," he muttered quietly before smiling weakly at her while Ayame healed.

_'Yeah, tonight we perform the soul burial. It's her last day in the living world,'_ Ayame thought with her lips curled down.

All of their eyes though suddenly widened when they heard the similar sounds of the deirinshinki.

"Another hollow huh? The last one appeared the day before yesterday, the rate of their occurences has been increasing constantly," Rangiku said seriously with Shiroi nodding with her.

_'Otou-san's currently busy with something else,'_ Ayame thought as she continued to heal Naruto.

"Ayame-chan, are you done?" Naruto asked as he tried to get up while Ayame withdrew the green reiryoku.

"You're not completely healed but this should be enough. We gotta hurry," she uttered before placing the hood over the head with Naruto doing the same as he slowly stood up.

"Alright, I'm gonna head to the location and make sure civilians are safe," Matsumoto said as she sped off towards the exit with Ayame vanishing in a flash step.

"I...I'll see you later Shiroi-chan," he muttered with a weak smile making her smile back at him warmly before the blonde followed Ayame.

**Konoha: Kokoro District**

"Dammit! Not again! We were attacked just two days ago! Hey, you inform any chunin or higher ranking shinobi you find that there's another hollow attack here!" a jounin yelled, commanding a chunin who too happened to be near the area. Both of them were standing on a roof as they watched a huge hollow, it's head reaching the roofs. It's body shape resembled like that of a tiger with a large white mask, covering most of it's face, the skin being violet in colour with black stripes. Right now, it had just entered through a garganta and was standing on all fours with it's tail swishing madly behind it.

"Hai!" the chunin exclaimed before shunshining out of the area, the civilians now panicking as they rushed to find shelters from something invisible; something they had been encountering at increased rates for the past half a month...something they couldn't see, but could feel it's evil presence, the suffocating pressure in the air.

_'I can only see the outline just like before. I still really don't have any idea of how those two mercenaries that Hokage-sama hired, could see these creatures...and dispose off creatures like these, whose size rivals that of boss summons,'_ the jounin thought as he watched a building being destroyed, gritting his teeth as he waited for the two 'mercenaries' to do their job.

"Well, it's not like I can see those two clearly too. But this hollow summoning contract is something that any shinobi would be lucky to have," he muttered to himself before his eyes suddenly widened as he saw a small boy sitting in the middle of the streets, crying in fear while he could see the hollow slither in that direction with random civilians running away from the rumble being caused by each step it took.

"P-Please...h-help!"

"Shit!" he dashed at full velocity, diving forwards as he took the sobbing boy in his arms; dodging the large foot by mere inches.

"**RAWWRRR!**" the hollow howled, it's anguish screams further mortifying the civilians as they sprinted in the opposite direction.

"Hey, you alright kid?" the jounin asked as the boy kept sobbing in terror and fear, just shaking his head.

_'Damn! What's taking those two so long?'_ he thought in frustration as the hollow continued to slither through the streets, as if searching something.

"Alright you guys, make sure the civilians are safe and wait for those mercenaries!" a silver haired jounin ordered, a group of chunins behind him who nodded before surrounding the perimeter in which the hollow was moving.

_'So, it's moving like an animal this time, unlike the last one which was comparatively smaller in size, and resembled more of a human,'_ the silver haired jounin thought as he gazed at the moving hollow which was visible comparatively clearer to him than other jounins and chunins.

"Kakashi-sempai, should we attack? The least we can do is atleast hold the hollow down before they arrive!" the same jounin from before spoke frantically after appearing besides the crouched figure of one Hatake Kakashi.

"No, we can't. Hokage-sama has clearly specified that we are not to engage these creatures. Seeing as most of our military force can't see hollows clearly enough, he doesn't want any of us to lose our lives in vain. Also, he has stated to keep our chakra levels low as it attracts these creatures more, so attacking them means raising our chakra output. There's a reason he's hired those mercenaries, they are hollow hunters and it's their speciality seeing as they too see to know the same invisibility technique," he spoke in a stern voice, now following the hollow's movements.

_'Still, I've never heard of any hollow summoning contract. But Hokage-sama did said that Orochimaru had gotten this contract recently, it is possible that he would attack Konoha like this. Could it be that he's planning something big? It's clear that he wants to destroy Konoha,'_ the copy ninja thought as they jumped through the roofs, the chunins evacuating the streets as they waited for the hired ones to do their 'job'.

"Still...," he muttered before lifting his headband, revealing the famed sharingan.

_'This is one thing I still don't get it. Not feeling any chakra from the hollows is one thing, but not being able to see their chakra networks even with the sharingan or byakugan is another thing. This really has to be some sort of extremely high level jutsu to even hide their chakra systems from the doujutsus.'_

All of them though suddenly stopped in their tracks, the hollow too had suddenly halted to stand still in between the streets.

"**Hmm...shinigami!**" it exclaimed in a demonic voice while the other chunins and jounins present there could only hear hazy sounds coming from the creature.

"Looks like we're a little late this time. Next time, I'll have to be more careful," Ayame muttered as she stood on a roof several meters away, her hooded shinigami garb flowing with the light breeze.

"Ahh...sorry Ayame-chan! Got a little held up back there."

_'This pressure, they are here,'_ Kakashi thought while he turned his head, sharingan out as he searched for them.

_'There they are! From the naked eye, they are just blurry black outlined figures...but with my sharingan, just like the hollow; one of them is empty while strangely I can see a tiny amount of red chakra flowing through the other one's coils. Could it be that he or she has not been able to master this invisibility technique yet? He does seem to follow the lead of the other one every time_,' the silver haired jounin thought as he stared at the two blurry figures, keeping his chakra level low.

"Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed, his face covered by the black hood as both of flash stepped to appear in front of the large hollow.

_'That technique seems similar to the body flicker one, but again I don't feel them using any chakra. This whole thing about the hollows and these hunters is a mystery to me, but one that I definitely want to solve,'_ Kakashi pondered with a serious expression as he watched the two hired shinobi vanish in a blur to appear in front of the hollow.

"Quite the big one, aren't you?" Naruto whistled with Ayame standing besides him while the hollow's huge body shadowed their forms.

"**Well well, two shinigami huh?**" it exclaimed as both the death gods took out their zanpakutou.

"**I wasn't ex-**"

SQUELCH!

"**RWAAAARHHH!**" the hollow suddenly screamed in pain as the blonde shinigami had flash stepped to appear behind it and slice it's tail off, blood gushing out violently.

"Yeah yeah...the same old dialogue. 'I wasn't expecting you, I wasn't expecting that'...nwah nwah nwah! Go eat a bowl of ramen and think of something new you predictable noob!" he spoke making Ayame sweatdrop as the hollow growled menacingly.

"**You BASTARD!**" it yelled as Naruto continued to stand there with a bored expression on his face, Haineko resting on his shoulders before he yet again shunpo'ed to apear in front of it's face.

WHAM!

"**Whose the predictable one now shinigami?**" it growled after slamming it's large hand onto the blonde's form, sending him flying towards a certain silver haired jounin.

"Woah!"

WHOOSH!

Kakashi exclaimed as he dodged a sailing Naruto who crashed deep into a shop resulting into splinters of wood and broken glass pieces to fly out in all directions.

Ayame sighed in exasperation as she shook her head.

"Guess I should finish this now," she muttered to herself before flashstepping to appear behind the hollow's head, her zanpakutou ready as she brought it down to slice it in half when suddenly she saw something coming out of the corner of her eyes.

Solely on reflex, she shunpo'ed yet again to miss the large apendage that was about to crash onto her.

_'What? Naruto-kun had already cut his tail just now...how did it grow back so quickly? Oh...guess this hollow possesses the ability of instant regeneration. Should've known that hollows entering this dimension would be special,'_ she thought with a frown.

"Ahh damn. I got carried away," Naruto mumbled as he threw off a table off him, dusting himself off before exiting the crumbled shop. Executing shunpo, he dashed towards the hollow using several steps to cover the distance while Kakashi continued to stare at them.

"**Don't think you can sneak up on me so easily shinigami**," it spoke before turning around to face Ayame, the streets now almost vacant with chunins and a few jounins as spectators.

_'Judging by the speed it's tail moved, this hollow must be fast...real impressive considering his size. And it's reiatsu is intimidating too...I can say that he's on his way of becoming a menos. Don't want to cause unnecessary destruction by using shikai or something. Guess Kido should do the trick,'_ Ayame thought when she spotted Naruto bolt towards them.

Grinning to herself, she shunpo'ed out.

_'Here I come you sucker!'_ Naruto thought as neared the hollow, Haineko clenched tightly in his hand.

"**Came back for more shinigami?**" it mocked as Naruto stopped several meters in front of it with a serious expression on his face, a single large nail of it's clawed hand passing just a few inches in front of his body, barely missing his face as he landed on the ground.

"Well aren't you fast?" he muttered with a frown before turning his head just a bit, his eyes widening to massive proportions upon spotting a black figure high above in the sky.

_'Is that...HOLY SHIT! She can fly?'_ he pondered in surprise, but quickly understood what she was planning upon feeling the increase in her reiatsu.

He sighed, "Guess I'll just have to become the 'distraction' part again," his fists clenched before the blonde took a deep breath. Lifting Haineko, he dashed towards the giant violet creature.

"**It's useless shinigami!**" it reared it's claw before bringing it down on his blurry dashing form. The blonde used shunpo, avoiding the hand stomp before he began to spurt along it's arm, bolting towards it's face at full velocity.

Meanwhile, Ayame who was standing high above Konoha started to build her reiatsu.

"**Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat!**," she spoke while flash stepping at thundering speeds down nearer towards the hollow, her two index fingers pointed towards the creature.

"**Bakudō no Kyu: Hōrin! (Disintegrating Circle)**," upon the exclaimation of the technique, an orange hued tendril with spiralling yellow patterns shot towards the creature.

"You...are...fast! Aren't you?" Naruto stated in between dodging the hollow's attacks as he went for a slash at his mask.

CLANG!

For his zanpakutou to only clash with it's claw, making him propel back at blazing speeds. Flipping himself over in midair, he used a wall as a springboard before recoiling back towards the hollow. Noticing something out of the corner of his eyes, he smirked as the orange tendril first wrapped around it's tail before elongating to wrap around it's other limbs, which was still connected to Ayame's index and middle fingers.

"**Wa-What? I...I can't move!**"

Looking above, the whiskered blonde's blue eyes met Ayame's brown ones. Increasing his speed, Naruto flash stepped to it's head level before going for his mask.

"**Hey s-stop! WHY CAN'T I MOVE?** **N-NO...AAAAGHHHHHH!**"

BOOM!

It's body burst into a flash of white light, emitting a large amount of reiatsu as the orange kido rope too disintegrated while Naruto landed on the ground.

"It's over I think," Kakashi muttered, covering his eyes from the light before it dimmed out.

"Kakashi, what's the situation? Any casualties?"

"Asuma?" the copy ninja asked in surprise when the bearded jounin had appeared besides him in a puff of smoke.

"Well, everyone's safe. A few were injured, but thankfully no one died," he sighed as Asuma stared at the scarred area due to the battle, the two hired ones no longer present.

"They sure are capable of disposing off these mysterious creatures. Hollows...never heard of such a contract, eh Kakashi?"

"Yeah," he replied while staring off into the sky as the chunins began to search the district for any remaining civilians or casualties.

"Strange that I sense no chakra at all from these creatures as well as those two. It's like they aren't shinobi, more like something else," Asuma spoke while lighting his cigarette, surprised that Kakashi hadn't immediately started reading his 'literature'.

"You're right. They don't behave like shinobi at all, only using either a katana or a zanabatou, attacking head on and using strange powers, which definitely isn't ninjutsu."

"Sharingan huh?" the Sarutobi predicted making Kakashi nod.

"One of those mercenaries, I can see a small amount of red chakra flowing through their coils," he stated in a low tone, making sure no one was listening to them while Asuma's eyes widened in shock.

"Y-You mean..."

"Hai, there's a strong possibility that one of them is a jinchuriki. But I still have my doubts," silence reigned between the two except the distant sounds of the chunins shouting and giving orders to some genins who had just arrived.

"You know Asuma, I find it strange that these past fifteen days...we are being constantly attacked. Something's...something just does not feel right here. And the reports of some genins and chunins having 'accidently' seen these mysterious figures clearly...can you believe this? Even with my sharingan, I can't see anything and yet they stated to have 'seen' them clearly. This is something I don't understand. It means there may be a way to see them, and it also means that we wouldn't need to then depend on these hollow hunters."

"Kakashi...sometimes you're just too tense. Just let them handle the job, and it's better this way cause we can concentrate on the safety of civilians while they eliminate the threat," Asuma paused, releasing some smoke before continuing.

"Besides, even if we are able to see them...it's better if we do not engage them. If we fight, it's obvious we'll raise our chakra levels and that's something that Hokage-sama has ordered everyone to avoid at all costs. According to him, who has previously engaged these types of creatures in the second great shinobi war, chakra attracts them and in return they heavily feed on chakra. But if we follow what you have said about your sharingan detecting no chakra...then isn't it better if we let these hunters handle these creatures as they too don't use chakra? I think they are perfectly suited for the job here, and it helps that our military force isn't prone to any injuries in the process."

"I guess you are right," he sighed when an Anbu appeared in a puff of smoke behind them.

"Hatake Kakashi, Hokage-sama requests your presence in his office immediately," he spoke in a monotone voice.

"Hai, I'll be there in just a minute."

**Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment**

"So how did it go?" Shiroi asked as Naruto entered his body while Ayame flopped herself on the couch.

"As usual."

"It sucked," he stated following Ayame's answer with a frown.

"What happened Naruto?" Matsumoto asked in a serious tone making him sigh in exhaustion, his physical body worn out due to the earlier workout.

"I wasn't able to do anything except provide the finishing blow. As usual, Ayame-chan held it down for me," he muttered while running his hands through his locks.

"Relax Naruto-kun. These hollows are not weaklings, their level is atleast that of a seated officer in a squad. So it's quite understandable that you're not able to stand upto them. Don't get discouraged though, your progress these fifteen days has been astounding to say the least. Honestly, I wasn't expecting you to come this far in such a short amount of time. Just keep training and the results would become more visible to you."

"But what about my shinobi career. My chakra is more stable than before, but still not to the point to perform ninjutsu. I still can't do the shadow clone technique remember?" he asked in bitter voice.

"You have high reiryoku reserves Naruto. It's apparent that it would be a difficult task to control such large reserves. You have to be patient. I know you desperately want to graduate this time, but be patient. I'm sure you'll be able to form stable chakra by the end of month," she spoke with a smile, lifting him somewhat. Nodding silently, Naruto smiled a bit when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Believe in yourself Naruto-kun," Shiroi said softly making him smile warmly at the silver haired beauty, which turned into a sadder one as he remembered their plans for tonight.

_'I do believe in myself Shiroi-chan. I just wish you didn't have to die so soon. I wonder though, had you not died...would our fates be connected in the same way, would I have been able to form a special bond with you or would I have remained the same 'demon' to you?'_

**Again, I'm sorry for being a jerk and not updating sooner. But I'll return to the same update speed as before, so don't worry. And if you any complains, are confused or don't understand something, don't hesitate to ask. :)**

**And don't forget to review you guys. Next update would be for the 'Chronicles of My Shinobi's Way'. So until next time, ciao! ^_^**

**N6023**

birr, bolt, dart, haste, onset, run, rush, sortie, sprint, spurt, zip


	7. Sayonara Shiroi

**Ahm, so this chapter's a bit angsty and all, just had to warn you ;)**

**And thanks for the review guys-**

**Chapter-7- Sayonara Shiroi-chan**

"Believe in yourself Naruto-kun," Shiroi said softly making him smile warmly at the silver haired beauty, which turned into a sadder one as he remembered their plans for tonight.

'_I do believe in myself Shiroi-chan. I just wish you didn't have to die so soon. I wonder though, had you not died….would our fates been connected in the same way, would I have been able to form a special bond with you or would I have remained the same 'demon' to you?'_ he thought as his eyes automatically lowered to her midsection, where the chain of fate was linked to.

'_Look at that…..she's on her last encroachment cycle. Figures why oji-san insisted that today had to be the last day. Anymore, we'll be risking her for transforming into a hollow,'_ a forlorn look on the blonde's face as he sighed quietly to himself.

"Where's oji-san Ayame-chan?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh…well, he had to take care of some business," she spoke quietly, her eyes closed as she sat relaxed on the couch. His eyes narrowed a bit suspiciously at her answer, but nevertheless he just shrugged it off. He had other things on his plate already. Matsumoto though was staring at Naruto, she had seen the look of sadness that had dusted his eyes for a brief moment before he had hardened himself. She didn't know much about Shiroi's and his relation, but in these past fifteen days; the blonde lieutenant had felt the strong thread of warmness and care that connected these two. It looked there was a chain of fate connecting these two, invisible to even the shinigami.

"Tou-san wouldn't be back for the next few days….but," Ayame started as she took a deep breath before opening her brown eyes as she stared at Shiroi, who nodded at her to continue.

"….but, we have to perform the soul burial today Naruto-kun. I'm sorry," she mumbled, not meeting his gaze as she stared at the floor. She knew that this would happen, after all…they were the one who had delayed Shiroi's konso in the first place. They had allowed the encroachment up until the last day possible, and Shiroi had to deal with strong spasms of pain several times after the end of each cycle.

"Alright….where?" he asked with a hardened look in his eyes, his heart heavy as if a huge burden was placed on his shoulders.

"You guys decide," Ayame answered in a quiet sad tone while Rangiku stayed silent. She was used to this…as a shinigami, they had to get rid of their emotions when escorting pluses to the other worlds. They too had to mask their emotions, just like a shinobi. It was not something they could choose from, not something they were taught in the academy or were asked to do, not something that was imposed on them via rules or the central 46: it was a necessity, a code they had to follow which they learned from experience.

"The hokage momument," his eyes widened when he heard her voice, she had spoken immediately. Turning his head back, he saw Shiroi smiling at him….her eyes filled with warmness, so many emotions he found himself unable to understand or decipher at that moment.

"Y-You sure?" surely he was taken aback, that was the place they had talked to each other on 'friendly' terms for the first time, when there was no hostility between them. She just nodded, her eyes getting a bit glossy as she tightened her hold on his shoulders. Turning his head back quickly, he clenched his eyes shut before taking a deep breath. This was hard, he didn't know it would be this….painful. All his life, he wanted to create these bonds. But, he never knew how it felt to have these bonds severed….to say goodbye to your most precious persons.

Opening his eyes slowly, he again took a deep breath…trying to push back the tears he knew were coming. Clutching his pants tightly, he bit his lower lip while staring absent mindedly at the carpet. Lifting his head, his eyes briefly met Rangiku's sky blue ones. She smiled a bit hesitantly at him, her eyes gaining a soft look while he could only avert his gaze, an expression of pain on his usually cheerful face. She on the other hand was taken aback. In these fifteen days, the lieutenant had never seen him so down. Even when he was training, and things looked like they weren't getting any better; he never gave up and always tried to hit the target with more vigor. It was heart breaking to see him in such a state.

Ayame still had her eyes closed, as if she was trying to ignore all what was happening. The tense silence in the room, as if trying to ignore the reality. Naruto, shifted his gaze towards the window to notice the sun already setting down.

'_So, a few hours is all she's got,'_ he ruminated with his eyes feeling heavy, already feeling tired due to the day's events.

Putting his hands on his knees, he stood up a bit wearily.

"Shiroi-chan, let's go," he voiced quietly making her eyes widen a bit in surprise while Ayame opened her eyes. Turning his head back, he glanced briefly towards Rangiku and Ayame…..as if relaying a message.

"I'm waiting outside," the blonde mumbled as he walked languidly towards the exit, his shoulders slumped due to all the exertion; physically as well as emotionally.

"So….I guess this is goodbye then you guys," Shiroi stated with a poignant smile while Ayame stood up, a melancholic smile framing her expression. Walking up to the silver haired plus, she enwrapped her in a tight hug as they stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"Thanks Shiroi-chan. Because of you, Naruto-kun was able to feel love, friendship, trust and so much more. In a mere month, you filled him completely. Thank you very much, and I will always remember you….it's just like I'm saying goodbye to my sister," she muttered, her voice calm as Shiroi tightened her hold on Ayame.

"I….t-thank you Ayame-chan. Thank you v-very much," she replied in a quivering voice, a lone tear streaming down her cheek before she released her. Wiping her cheek and eyes, she shifted her gaze towards Matsumoto.

"Rangiku-chan….." she voiced in a low tone, nodding at her making the lieutenant pout.

"What? No hug for me?" Shiroi giggled lightly before hugging her tightly.

"Thank you for p-protecting Naruto-kun….and training him too. It's because of you, that he's filled with hope now, that he can pursue his dreams now. Thank you Rangiku-chan," the blonde lieutenant nodded with a smile as she patted her back gently.

"Yeah, I'll protect him. With the loneliness and pain he suffered, he needs all the support he can get. Don't worry, he's in safe hands now. And oh, try that sake in Rukongai I told you about! I'll come and visit you from time to time there, and who knows….you may even become a shinigami," she spoke softly with a giggle when suddenly Shiroi's body jerked a bit in surprise.

"S-Shinigami? Then does that mean I have a chance of meeting Naruto-kun again?" she asked with hope in her widened eyes while Rangiku shook her head with a sad look.

"Shiroi-chan, when you enter soul society….most probably you will lose all your memories of your time in the living world," she hated to break it to her, to crash her hopes…but this was the truth. Releasing each other from the hug, Shiroi bowed to both of them with a teary smile.

"Oh well, I was able to do something useful with my life atleast. It was great knowing you two. And say my goodbyes to Teuchi-san and Hokage-sama….they have been a great help too," both of them nodded as Shiroi turned around to leave.

**Timeskip: Several Minutes Later: Konoha: Hokage's Monument**

Standing on the yondaime's head, both of them stared at the setting sun in silence. Neither of them knowing what to say, it was something they knew was coming….but a cold reality they couldn't come to terms no matter from what angle you looked at it. Both of them were going to get hurt, one of them losing her memories with the other one having to live with the emotional anguish of the memories he would cherish for the rest of his life.

"So…," Shiroi started, trailing as she noticed his body visibly stiffen. Her eyes grew soft as he continued to gaze at the orange tinted sky, the sun setting down as the breeze started to get colder.

"I guess, this is it Naruto-kun," she stated delicately, turning her head towards him while it started to grow dark. Naruto though just closed his eyes, drowning himself into that specific memory; that fateful day.

**Flashback: Almost a Month Ago**

"Tchh! Stupid woman, I only wanted to talk to her. Not that I would go 'demon' on her even after she's dead. Jiji said that your life flashes back before your eyes just when you're about to die…that at that moment, you instantly know what you did right and what you did wrong. At that moment, you're flooded with every possible emotion. That you feel guilty for the things you did wrong. But then, even after their deaths they continue to call me 'demon', ignore me, they still try to beat me when I do nothing but try to take away their loneliness," hands in his pocket as he walked towards the monument, the only place he found himself at peace.

"I know how it feels to be alone, to be ignored, to not be noticed," his tone turned sadder as his steps became sluggish. It was late chilly night as the moon shone upon the faces of the previous leaders of Konoha.

"I only wanted to talk to her, to help her. Is that so much to ask?" he asked himself, really feeling down. Nothing was working out for him, no matter how hard he tried to make some friends….to make people notice him; it always ended up backfiring at him. He was like a cockroach to them, no matter what he did, no matter wherever he crawled to….they were disgusted by him, they ignored him and enjoyed stomping on him. He was so sick of all this. He sometimes thought of leaving this village, but the fact he could become stronger here held him back.

He was attending the academy, he wanted to get stronger. Why? He didn't know, maybe to prove these idiots that he was not a failure. But to become a shinobi, the basic requirement was chakra. Without that, it was almost a lost cause.

"No matter how hard I try, no matter what I do….it all seems lost to me. I mean, what am I even doing at this place? No one teaches me anything, making friends and doing other stuff is out of the question. I think….I think that it's better that I leave Konoha for good," talking to himself. Yeah, he might be going crazy. But who know, maybe kami may hear him if he 'talks' instead of pondering to himself about this. Maybe someone would hear this, and not ignore him for once.

"I have to find a place where someone can solve my chakra problem….but where?" he muttered to himself, his head lowered as he neared the monument.

THAP!

"Ughh!" he grunted in pain, stumbling onto to his steps as he fell down on his knees. His hands reflexively went to his forehead, blood dripping down his face.

"W-Who's there?" the blonde snarled with narrowed eyes, his world spinning as he shook his head. The injury was already being healed, looking down…he noticed it was a large pebble, its edge sharpened. The gash on his forehead healed quickly while blood covered most part of his face. Feeling himself being healed at inhuman speeds, or rather at a normal pace for him….he grabbed the rock before standing up wearily.

"Oh sorry, did that hurt? I'm really sorry, I was just practicing a game we used to play. What was the name of the game again? Oh right, 'kill the demon'," his eyes widened upon hearing that voice. Snapping his head up, he saw the same silver haired woman as she mocked him with a smirk on her face, another pebble in her hands.

Naruto gritted his teeth, his breathing becoming labored as he rubbed his forehead. Even with his astounding healing rates, it was winter time and it hurt greatly. His world began to go red as he tightly clenched his fists, the large pebble cracking under the sheer pressure.

"Oh, is the demon angry? So sad that you can't even touch me, I guess dying does have some positive effects after all. What can yo….." her voice trailed as suddenly a tremendous pressure filled the air, the oxygen becoming suddenly too difficult to breathe in. She was immediately on her knees, the chain linked to her chest clashing to the ground as she began panting. Lifting her head, her eyes widened as she noticed glowing purple lightning sparks crackle around his body.

"W-What's going on?" she gasped while trying to stand up. Her eyes again widened though when he lifted his head. His whisker marks had deepened, the blonde locks spikier while his fangs and nails had lengthened.

'_His eyes….' _she thought while staring at him, sweat pouring down her face.

"**I don't even need to touch you**," he spoke in a cold tone, his voice gaining a demonic edge as he stared at her with those eyes. They were, flickering between two shades constantly. One second they would red with black slits, and other they would be a glowing shade of purple….as if electricity was coursing through them.

Dust began to pick up as he stood there, glaring at her with malice while a gust of spiraling wind flew outwards with him being the epicenter. Her eyes widened in slow motion, when he suddenly vanished in a burst of glowing blue lightning to appear in front of her; the large stone still in his hands. Naruto growled in anger as he reared his hand while she immediately closed her eyes in fear.

'_So he is a demon after all,'_ she thought, petrified by the aura he was emitting right now. Even though, the silver haired woman believed that he couldn't touch her…a soul, she still couldn't help but be intimidated by him, the piercing high pitch sound the of the buzzing lightning almost deafening to her.

…..

Suddenly, the sound came to an abrupt stop as she kept her eyes shut; her hands trembling in fear while the only thing she could hear was his labored breathing. Slowly opening her eyes, hesitantly- she was surprised to see the rock inches away from her forehead while the boy had a paralyzing expression on his face.

"It's….it's no use. I am just a demon to you guys," his pupil was vibrating slightly as he stood there in trance while she stared at him with wide eyes.

"If I attack you, I'm a demon. If I don't, you provoke me into doing so. It's like…..you, everybody…..," his voice began to quiver as he clenched his eyes shut, his hand trembling in front of her forehead.

"….you want me to be the demon! You want me to become an abomination, so you can kill me!" he exclaimed loudly as the rock fell on the ground while she continued to stare at him with widened eyes.

'_What is he….'_ she cogitated in astonishment, surprised to see him act like this. Usually, the only emotion she saw on the boy's face….even when she was alive was that grin, the everlasting smile on his face. It angered the elders somehow, it was like he was mocking them…..mocking their relatives who he had killed all those years ago.

"F-Fuck you! Fuck this rotten place!" he seethed through gritted teeth, pulling his hand back as much to her disbelief, tears started to escape through his tightly clenched eyes.

"Fuck Hokage! FUCK SHINOBI!" he yelled loudly, a sob escaping his lips. Her heart scrunched painfully at the sight, he was crying...he really was.

'_D-Demons don't c-cry. He's really crying,'_ she thought, as if unable to believe so. She had never seen the boy down, but this….it was like he exploded right in front of her. Like he was feeling all those emotions at the same time; the anger, the pain, hurt, betrayal, rage….he was losing it. Strangely, she wanted to comfort him. No, this couldn't be a demon. This child, crying in front of her….she could feel his pain. Her guardians had told her that he was the kyuubi reincarnate, that he was the kyuubi who had taken so many lives that day, who had killed her parents. Did they mean, this child; the one crying in front of her?

Lifting his hands, Naruto began to swiftly wipe his cheeks and eyes, biting his lower lip to control himself. He breathed a sharp intake of air, opening his wet eyes which he wiped by the fabric of his black jacket. The only sounds that could be heard was the cold breeze flowing across them along with his random sniffing sounds.

'_No….I have to control myself! I wouldn't cry….not in front of her!'_ he mulled over bitterly, a frown forming on his face as he rubbed his eyes furiously to get rid of any moisture. The woman in front of him though, sat there frozen in shock as she continued to gaze at him.

Not saying any word, he started to walk by her after shadowing his face with the hood of his jacket. The woman though just followed his form with her eyes when he suddenly stopped besides her.

"I hope your life went well here. Mine surely wouldn't," he muttered quietly, loud enough for her to hear before putting his hand on her shoulder making her eyebrows shoot up in immense surprise.

'_What is he….he can touch me! Then why didn't he__...__?'_ coming out of her thoughts, she noticed him no longer standing beside her. Turning her head back, she saw his retreating form as he walked lazily away from her. Her mind raged with so many considerations right then, should she follow him? The one, who was a demon to her minutes ago. But the way he suddenly stopped crying, it meant that he was holding back his emotions, his pain….there was definitely more to this boy than his appearance in general public signified.

'_No, I have to find out about this. They told me to stay away from him, to shun him, that hurting him was a good thing and would make my parents proud of me. Is he really a demon?'_ the stone rolling out of her left hand, she slowly stood up when Naruto suddenly stopped walking making her breathing hitch in her throat.

She stood there standing like a rod, afraid that he might do something now. Her face though adopted a confused expression when he began walking towards an alley to his left.

"W-What is he doing?" her voice hoarse as she mumbled to herself. Intent on finding more about him, she began to take wobbly steps towards the alley, her heart racing as she reached the corner. Poking her head tentatively around the corner, she watched him as he sat there…..some scrap materials and cardboards laying besides him while he seemed to be making something out of them.

"L-Living out here must be hell, ne little guy?" his voice was still quivering, he was sniffing as he seemed to be talking to someone.

'_He must be crying again,' _she thought with sadness, disturbed about this. Just then, a small head protruded from the open zipper of his jacket.

"Yaap! Yeep!" it was a small puppy! He seemed to chuckle in response, making a box large enough to accommodate the small resident as he wiped something on his shadowed face.

"J-Just wait a little m-more buddy….it's almost done," he chocked, was he still crying?

Shiroi immediately leaned back as she stood against the wall, a hand on her chest while she had an alarmed expression on her face.

'_What's happening here? This isn't supposed to be happening!' _ she clutched her head, not knowing what to do. What was she to understand by all this, the so called 'demon' cared, he had a heart? What he was doing right now, was an act of a caring and a kind person, not a demon that everyone so much hated. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back again.

"There, it's all done. You can sleep n-now," he spoke in a hoarse voice before taking out the little puppy out of his jacket.

"I would've taken you to my apartment, but you wouldn't be safe there. After all, whatever belongs to me is not safe," he chuckled to himself while rubbing the puppy's head as it wagged its tail happily while it yipped back in response.

"Besides, I think I'm leaving this place tomorrow. There's nothing left for me here now. W-Well, there's Ayame-chan, Teuchi-oji-san and jiji there…..but I don't think they would be that affected by me leaving this place," he uttered, his face hooded while the puppy's bright eyes dimmed, as if it could feel the sadness, pain and loneliness radiating off Naruto.

"I w-would take you with me, b-but the thing is that….th-that…" his voice began cracking, the white puppy moaned as it dropped its head whereas her eyes gained a soft look while she gazed at his bent form. Moisture gathered in her eyes involuntarily when she noticed drops of transparent liquid falling on his right hand, which was on the puppy's head.

It moaned again, its tone sad as the blonde spoke again.

"…..y-you know, you w-would be t-treated h-here…better t-than me, much b-better than me," again a few sobs escaping him when the puppy began licking the tears off his hand.

"Oh, s-sorry there pal. I m-made you w-wet," he stuttered with a chuckle, sniffing to pull back the tears. By now, even unknown to herself, tears were freely streaming down the cheeks of the silver haired woman as she stared at the child in front of her. Leaning back, she put a hand over her mouth to control herself. Shutting her eyes, she took deep breaths so as to control herself, not wanting to make noise.

'_Oh kami….what have we done?'_ she thought with wide eyes, every heartbeat being painful to her as more tears fell down her chin. A few muffled sobs seeped through her covered mouth, when her eyes widened upon hearing him say goodbye to the puppy. Pushing up against the wall, she stood up before running to hide in an another neighboring alley.

Peaking her head around the corner, she saw him walking towards the Hokage's monument. Just when she was about to follow him, a voice behind her startled her.

"You still think he's a demon?" snapping her head back, she saw a hooded person wearing a black garb. Judging by her voice, she was a female.

"W-Who a-are you?" the silver haired woman stammered as she frantically wiped her tears, surprised that someone could see her.

"Consider me that boy's well wisher. But tell me, do you still think he's a demon?" the stranger again asked making her shake her head furiously.

"O-Of course not! I would be a fool to believe in all that c-crap after just what I saw!"

"Well, you were a fool in the first place to believe such ridiculous accusations on a boy who has done nothing to harm this village or anyone," the plus's head dropped down in sadness and shame.

"W-Well, I'll make up for it. What I couldn't do w-while I was alive, I'll do it while being d-dead. I will make sure he isn't lonely again!" she spoke with determination, lifting her head to surprisingly find no one.

"Then go, he's on the yondaime's head right now," the voice came from all directions making her confuse, but she just shrugged it off for now. Nodding to herself, she wiped her cheeks with the fabric of her sleeve before rushing towards the boy who deserved so much more than what fate had given him so far.

'_I wouldn't let him suffer anymore!'_

**Konoha: Hokage's Monument**

"Let's see, leaving Konoha would not be easy. They can't declare me as a missing nin considering I'm still not a shinobi officially. But jiji might send some Anbu after me…..I have to make it so that they don't come to know about my absence immediately," Naruto muttered to himself as he gazed at the moon, sitting on the monument with his knees pressed up to his chest.

"I guess I have to leave early in the morning. For food, instant ramen will have to do while I think some kunai and shuriken would be necessary. And the place I should check first…..hmm, can't be Suna considering Konoha is in alliance with it. Right now, Kiri is undergoing a bloodline war or something. Iwa too is out of the question, so that only leaves Kumo," he mused to himself as his eyes dropped down to his ninja sandals, releasing a puff of fog with his breath due to the chilling cold. His eyes narrowed upon hearing someone coming up there via stairs.

Standing up, he turned back to see the same silver haired whom he had tried to befriend earlier today.

"What do you want?" he growled with anger in his voice. He knew she was there spying on him in the alley, but he didn't care. Not that she could tell the others that he was unleashing his 'wrath' on a puppy. She though, just stood there with a sad expression on her face while his eyes widened upon noticing the tear stains on her cheeks.

'_Was she…..crying?'_

"I….I just wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier. I-I was just an idiot to think that you were the demon that everyone calls you. Please forgive me!" she exclaimed before suddenly lowering herself to her knees, bowing to him as her forehead touched the floor. Naruto though, to say the least was flabbergasted! He couldn't decipher what had happened for her to act like this as he gawked at her.

"Stop that! I know it's just another lame trick to try to make my life more hellish than it already is. Well then guess what, I'm leaving this village….and you wouldn't be able to tell anyone considering that you're dead," he spoke with a dark smirk on his face when her body started to shake a bit.

"P-Please…d-don't leave," her quivering voice struck a chord in his heart but he just chose to ignore it.

"Oh, I will ignore it and I will leave this shit hole! And stop that acting will you, you're horrible at it and it's useless anyway," the blonde seethed with a frown on his face as he prepared to take off.

"There's no reason for me to be here. Here, I have no purpose in life. With manipulative bastards like you, I sure I'm done for if I continue to stay here," he spoke bitterly, his back turned to her. He didn't like being so cruel to anyone, nor did he like to say such things to anyone….but he didn't care anymore. It was over for him here in Konoha.

'_With no chakra, I can't hope to become a shinobi. And with nobody helping me here, it's no use staying in Konoha anymore. My decision is final, I'm leaving,'_ weighing his options for the final time, he took his final decision while nodding to himself. Yeah, being Hokage was a lost cause with no chakra.

"Goodbye, whoever you are. You are one of the very few persons in my life who have talked to me for more than five minutes," he uttered with a bitter chuckle, gazing at shining moon from the monument for possibly the last time.

Just as Naruto was about to jump (not suicide), his eyes suddenly widened when he found himself wrapped in a tight hug from behind.

"Please! I beg you, don't leave!" she yelled as he began to struggle against her grip.

"Hey! Leave me….what are you trying to do! I'm not that easy to take down!"

"O-Onegai…..," her voice now desperate as she clutched him to herself tightly, his oceanic blue eyes widening upon feeling warm droplets on his neck and scalp.

'_She….really is crying. Why?'_ he thought, finding it so hard to believe that he had just ignored her tear stains earlier without giving it any second thought.

"What will you do out there? W-Where will…..y-you go? H-Here atleast H-Hokage-sama looks after you!" she exclaimed loudly, her eyes clenched shut as tears openly cascaded down her face….flowing with the cold breeze. Naruto could feel his resolve weakening, the warmth she was emitting was so enticing to him that he never wanted to leave her embrace. He so much wanted this. But….why the sudden change of heart? Just some minutes ago….wait! She must have seen him tending to that puppy, maybe…..just maybe she thought that he was not the demon.

'_What do I do?'_ he had never been so confused in his life. Just a minute ago, he was sure about what to do…and then she just had to come and do this. He just stood there silently, his body slumped against her chest as she continued to embrace him tightly, the sound of her sobs and hiccups filling the air.

"D-Don't give yourself to darkness. I know i-it must be hard f-for you. The w-way you s-smiled daily, nothing g-got you down. E-Everyone has their limits. To th-think….you w-were hiding your p-pain behind t-that silly smile," she stuttered while Naruto's knees gave away in shock as both of them were lowered to their knees, her arms still wrapped around his comparatively smaller form.

His head dropped down as the blonde clenched his fists, her warmth was making him weaker.

"Why?" he asked while breathing heavily, "Why are you doing this? I am just a demon, why do you cry for me?"

"NO!" his body jerked in surprise at her outburst while she held him firmly to herself, more tears falling on his jacket as she shook her head furiously.

"No, you're not! You're anything but a demon. I'm sorry….if only I'd taken the time of the day to g-get to know you, if only…I'm so sorry!" his heart melted upon hearing her desperate but sweet voice. First of all, nobody had ever cried for him. And he was still confused as to why would she cry for him, he was the one who suffered; not her. After several minutes between him, he spoke.

"I'm sorry too," her eyes snapped open as her face adopted a confused expression.

"W-What?"

"I'm sorry for the way I behaved earlier. I just…..at that moment, I just didn't care anymore. I was fed up of the way people continued to treat me despite all these years," he spoke quietly, now his tone holding sadness as they stayed in each other's embrace, not wanting to move an inch from their position.

"N-No, it was perfectly n-normal. You completely had the right to do so," his eyes widened when a meek giggle escaped her lips making him turn his head to look at her face. The silver haired plus though blushed a bit upon staring into his enchanting electric blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, i-it's just that if you hadn't broken down…..then it might have been wrong. Y-You are very brave, to have endured so much for so long. If I was in place of you, I would've committed suicide a long time ago," she admitted with a sad smile, her green eyes sparkling under the moon while he blushed due to the compliment.

'_This feeling….,'_ he thought as his hand automatically went over his heart, it was strange…but it felt good.

Turning back again, he lifted his right hand to wipe the tears off her cheeks making her blush lightly.

"Pretty girls shouldn't cry," now he definitely didn't know where'd that come from. But judging from her scarlet face, he thought he must have spoken something good then.

"Th-Thank you. You're a cutie yourself," she spoke with a wink making him blush dark red as she giggled at his face. Suddenly, he felt good. Suddenly, the world didn't sound so dark to him, things didn't look so hopeless to him. He felt that he could face his problems head on now. What was happening?

A true smile, radiating happiness came onto his face as he gazed at the moon.

"What's your name?" he asked quietly, a bit timidly making her smile. She was making progress after all.

"Wakatsu Shiroi," came her reply as he made sure to memorize the name of possibly his first friend.

"What's yours?" she asked with a sigh, embarrassed as hell to not even know his name when practically all the villagers knew him. Naruto though, could only sweatdrop in response.

'_Talk about ignorance,' _he thought while rolling his eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto," a bulb ticked on as she came to a realization, now she had heard that name. She just didn't know it was his name. A comfortable silence again settled between them as they both sat there, staring into the endless sky.

"W-Will you leave the village now?"he could sense the fear in her question.

"I don't know. I was all set up on my decision when you came, I just don't know what to do. My chakra, for some strange is not stable….I cannot use it for anything. I have to find someone who can correct this problem. Here in Konoha, I don't think anybody's going to help me," the blonde verbalized making her eyes slump down.

"So you're leaving tomorrow?" she asked sadly while he just remained silent for a few seconds.

"No, I think I'll wait a bit," his response shocked her. Why was he staying now?

"My graduation exams are coming up in a month, I think I wanna give one last try. I don't know, I just feel like I should stay a little longer. If somehow, I learn the clone technique and pass the exam….I'll get a jounin instructor and then my chakra problem can possibly be solved. If I fail the exam, then I'll leave the village and go to Kumogakure," the whiskered blonde explained making her nod when she replied.

"Then I'll go with you," Shiroi spoke firmly making him turn back to stare at her in surprise.

"How can you go with me? You're dead right? Isn't like, a shinigami supposed to come and take you to heaven or hell? I think that you'll be taken away in just a few days," he answered making her look at him gloomily.

"Then I'll spend as much as I can with you. I wouldn't leave you for even a second in these upcoming days," seeing the look of immense surprise on his face, she smiled before kissing him on the cheek making him blush madly.

"I want to make up to you. What you felt, what you went through….no one should suffer like that. I'll make sure that you forget your lonely childhood," Shiroi grinned at him as his heart swelled with something he had felt for the first time, it was positive and he couldn't describe it. He grinned back at her, turning around to hug her tightly making her giggle.

'_It started out as a nasty fight, and ended up into such a pretty sight. Glad you finally found someone kid. If not, then I would've had to intervene and knock some sense into you. Either way well, it would have been good for you. I was planning to start your reiryoku training anyway, but I guess you need to get healed emotionally first….so I'll postpone it. And looks like Shiroi-san is staying in the world of living for a little longer,'_ a male wearing the same black garb thought as he watched the pair from the shadows, besides whom was standing the female from before.

**Flashback Ends!**

"Naruto-kun, it's time," his eyes zoomed out of his trance like state as he turned to look at her. Shiroi smiled sadly at him as she walked towards him before bending down to wipe his eyes off the tears which had formed involuntarily.

"I…I don't want you to go. I want you to stay with me," he muttered with a miserable expression before she wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Just remember that I'll be always watching over you. And I'll always remember you, even when I enter soul society or whatever place there is," she spoke firmly making him smile as he hugged her back. Leaning back, she smirked at him before extending her index finger towards him.

"As we promised," she spoke making him chuckle as he locked his own index finger with hers.

"No tears," he said making her grin at him as the blonde this time hugged her, wrapping his arms around her neck tightly. Shiroi gladly hugged him back.

"Wow, you sure put up some muscle…you're squeezing me to death Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed with a giggle making him jerk back quickly as the blonde rubbed the back of his head while smiling sheepishly.

Naruto's eyes though widened suddenly when her expression turned into that of a painful one. Lowering his gaze, he realized that the final cycle of encroachment had started, no time to waste now. Taking out the black glove with the white skull, he pushed it against his chest. In a show of blue lightning threads, his adult shinigami form came into Shiroi's view who was right now clutching her heart.

"This is it Shiroi-chan. Thank you for everything. You are my most precious person and I will never forget you. You gave me hope, you supported me and pulled me out of darkness. Only because of you, I began to cherish the place I earlier considered no better than hell," sighing to himself he unsheathed Haineko, positioning the tip of the hilt above his own shoulder such that it was facing her forehead. Shiroi however, just grinned at him, ignoring the pain she was feeling.

"Glad to be of some use Naruto-kun," then she did something that made his senses go haywire. Swiftly leaning towards him, she pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss. Naruto though, had his eyes wide open as he tried to come to terms with what was happening…..he was flummoxed to say the least. His eyes though widened further when her form began to glow white, just like her name. Averting his gaze a bit, he noticed his zanpakutou gently pressed against her forehead as a glowing kanji for 'soul burial' appeared on her skin.

Just as he was instinctively about to kiss back, the blonde felt warm droplets on his cheek when Shiroi leaned back….a bright smile on her face as a single stream of liquid, containing so many emotions poured down her cheek.

"I love you Naruto-kun, and always will," the silver haired beauty confessed making his breathing hitch in his throat. Before the blonde could have said anything else, her form disintegrated in small **reishi **(spirit particles).

Stunned into silence, the only thing he could say was….

"Sayonara….Shiroi-chan."

_**'Cough' 'cough'**_** Well, hope you liked the chapter :) (And Shiroi-chwan...'sniff' 'sniff' I'm so sad T_T ALMOST makes me wanna rewrite this)**

**Also, some of you may be whining about this fic being boring, not meeting your expectations or overall being slow as a plot in whole. Don't worry, the plot has been set up...you guys just sit tight. You're in for one heck of a ride! :D**

**And in the name of all that is best and not worst, please 'sigh'...review. They are my inspiration. So even if you don't feel like reviewing (which consists of most of you), please try so that you feel like such lol. **

**Well, ja ne and take care! See you guys in the next chapter!**

**N6023**


	8. Thread of Soul Bonds

**Hey guys! So glad to see you! **

**I see MOST of you guys and gals cried in the last chapter! Lol I cried too while writing too, so that makes us even! But your youthful reviews really ignited my flames of inspiration and made my cry again!**

**Ahm, also I see many of you don't like Shiroi-chan leaving us. Well, I don't like that too….but it's important for the story plot too you know. I've got things planned pretty FAR, so have some faith in me. Also, I wouldn't tell you if Shiroi's gonna return or not. I LOVE keeping my readers in suspense! But enough of me, let's get on with the chapter.**

**Chapter-8****-Thread of Soul Bonds**

"I love you Naruto-kun, and always will," the silver haired beauty confessed making his breathing hitch in his throat. Before the blonde could have said anything else, her form disintegrated in the form of small **reishi **(spirit particles).

Stunned into silence, the only thing he could say was….

"Sayonara….Shiroi-chan," an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at the spot where she was standing a few moments ago.

'_Love….she loved me,' _he thought, as if the word itself was foreign to him. A nostalgic gust wind breezed his form as he gazed at the village, standing on the head of the fourth fire shadow.

"She….loved me," he spoke shakily, his fists clenched as the blonde lowered his gaze to stare at his feet. Clenching his eyes shut, he took deep breaths to ease the pain which was currently drilling through his heart.

"She l-loved me," he again repeated as transparent tears finally broke the confines of his shut eyelids, streaming down his whiskered cheeks. His mind was stunned into a state of paralysis; he didn't know what to do….what was the meaning of this? Someone loved him, how heavy was that? And the most frustrating part was that he couldn't do anything now. Actually, he didn't even know what he would have done if she has here right now. Maybe hug her tightly and never let her go, tell her how precious she was to him….the special place she held in his heart.

Still shocked, Naruto fell to his knees with Haineko still being held by his right hand. He somehow felt happy that she loved him, he really did! But, the fact she was now gone forever outweighed anything else….the sadness overwhelmed any other emotion right now.

"Shiroi-chan loved me," it struck a chord in his heart. Never had he thought of hearing such words from anyone. Releasing the zanpakutou, he put his fists on the surface as he gritted his teeth with his eyes still closed-refusing to open them and find her missing from his life now.

"Ugkhh….." strained syllables exuded from his mouth as he lowered his forehead to touch the concrete surface, the raging emotions inside him being too much for the twelve year old to handle.

"No, she still loves you Naruto-kun," his body jerked in surprise as he hastily turned his head around with widened eyes, tears now leaking out which earlier filled his eyelids.

"R-Rangiku-chan…." swiftly wiping off the tears from his cheeks, he rubbed his eyes quickly to clear his glossy vision. There she was standing almost a meter away from him, a sad smile on her face as she walked towards him.

Clutching Haineko, he stood up abruptly before sheathing it while Matsumoto frowned at this. Closing the distance between them, she was surprised to see him smile at her.

"Mission accomplished!" the grin on his face was painfully fake, and his hoarse voice gave it away too. It really clenched her heart that he would act like that around her when they had spent so much time with each other, so he still didn't trust her enough? He was just treating her like another villager.

Lifting her hand…..

"Ow!" he exclaimed in pain when she pinched his cheek, the frown now deeper on her usually cheerful face.

"Stop the act," she spoke quietly making his eyes widen just a little bit before he averted his gaze. Staring into those large blue orbs again, he found himself getting calmed-the whirlwind of emotions inside him finally settling down as a sigh escaped his lips.

"It's alright Naruto-kun, there's nothing wrong in crying. I know you would miss her the most, she was the closest to you. But don't you dare to blame it on yourself or anything like that, this was bound to happen and nobody could've done anything about it," putting a hand on his shoulders, she smiled encouragingly at him.

Naruto however gazed at the ground, his eyes half lidded as he contemplated on her words. Lifting his head, he bit his lower lip to control himself while staring at her.

"But R-Rangiku-chan….she's gone. I knew this would happen, but I never thought that she would love someone like me. Now, I….I…" his body stiffened as he choked on his words. Matsumoto squeezed his shoulder in comfort; it pained her to see him like this. Usually, he was cheerful, so bright-just like her. She cherished all her memories with him, the pranks they played with each other-it was something she could never possibly forget.

Rangiku Matsumoto's eyes however, suddenly widened in shock when Naruto leaned forward to hug her tightly. She completely wasn't expecting this, hence the light blush on her face as she found herself wrapped in a tight warm hug. For the past fifteen days, she had come to realize that Naruto avoided physical contact with others. He was scared….no, he was nervous and didn't have such a thing in his childhood's basket to experience-something which angered her the most and caused her to hate the villagers.

Even during the times they spent with each other, when she would hug him lightly or kiss him on the cheek-she knew that he just didn't know how to respond. He would become nervous, blush heavily as if a hot naked woman was standing in front of him. She found it cute, very cute….but at the same time found herself determined to fill that gap in his heart, to make him experience these things, and most importantly to win his trust completely. It was something she found herself compelled to do, something she knew he needed desperately but was afraid of it at the same time.

"I don't know what to do Rangiku-chan! How could she love someone like me? I'm so confused! Please tell me what to do dattebayo!" he exclaimed loudly in desperation, clutching onto her form like she was his lifeline.

Getting over her initial shock, her mind registered his words as she returned the hug with a warm smile.

'_I think I know why she felt that way towards you.'_

"The only thing you can do is learn from what happened today and move on. The ones who are close to you, cherish every moment you spend with them for you never know- tomorrow they might not be there with you to support you, to make you feel better. And even if they are gone, the moments you spent with them, their memories only makes you stronger and gives you the strength to march forward despite all the difficulties. Remember that Shiroi-chan still loves you, and will continue to do that forever," her smooth voice succeeded in making him feel better as his earlier shaking body, now was relaxed against hers.

"But, it still hurts that Shiroi-chan will lose her memories. How could she say that would love me forever, I don't want her to forget me….even if it is somewhat selfish," he muttered against her shoulder making Rangiku giggle lightly.

"Baka, memories can be wiped out, but the warm thread that links your souls can never be cut. Her soul would always remember you, bonds cannot be broken that easily," leaning back, he stared at Matsumoto wide eyed-wondering where this was coming from. His eyes were a bit red while the blonde lieutenant found herself blushing a bit under his surprised gaze. She was the same bubbly jovial shinigami right?

The one who frequently barged into his apartment, drunk with a hiccupping fit and racked with a seduction kit? The one who was always cheerful and sometimes got on his nerves…..no, actually he could never stay annoyed at her for long, no longer than a few minutes.

"Ahehe….well, now let's go back to your apartment! I'm hungry!" she blabbered with a pout making his lips curve upwards slowly. Yeah, she was definitely one of a kind. And he would be damned if he let her go anytime soon, he would cherish every moment with her and would always remember Shiroi.

Grabbing his hand, she started to drag him towards their destination when he realized something.

"Oi wait! Let me get back in my body! It's gonna freeze in cold! Hey, are you LISTENING?" he asked while trying to reach his body as she continued to drag him before stopping abruptly.

"On one condition, you'll stay in this form tonight," she said with an innocent expression while wagging her finger in front of her slightly flushed face making Naruto quirk his eyebrow at the strange request.

"Alright," he shrugged before walking upto his body as she released his hand when he suddenly stopped.

'_This warmth….' _he pondered while staring at his hand, suddenly having this urge to grab her soft hand back and never let it go.

"Huh, what's wrong?" the small bit of concern in her voice made him smile as he just shook his head.

"Nothing," she look at him confusion as he lifted his body to sling 'himself' over his shoulders.

"Whoa! I'm heavy," he exclaimed in surprise making Matsumoto sweatdrop. Yeah, just like him to say something so absurd.

"Oi Rangiku-chan!" he called making her snap out of her thoughts. Suddenly, she felt herself getting nervous upon noticing the mischievous glint in his eyes. Matsumoto didn't know, no one had that effect on her, rather it was the opposite in Soul Society or any other place she went. Naruto, however could make her nervous just by staring at her-whether because she knew his history as a prank master, or just because of the butterflies churning in her stomach.

"W-What?" she stuttered, STUTTERED! Rangiku Matsumoto STUTTERED! She was now pretty sure she needed to visit Unohana. The grin that took birth on Naruto's face was so predatory that it made her blush as well as want to run away. Taking some stumbling steps back, she smiled back…trying to act calm.

"Um…let's race to the apartment! The last one has to wash the dishes!" she exclaimed before turning around to dash in the opposite direction when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh no, not this time," he whispered in her ear, making her blush darkly as she gulped nervously. This was so unlike her! How did he suddenly change the tides anyway? Well, she was happy that it was dark so he couldn't see her blush.

"Naruto-kun, what are youuuu…." she screamed midway when he bent down to swiftly pick her up and sling her over his other shoulder.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked frantically with her cheeks heating red as his arm was holding her thighs.

"Whoa! You're even lighter than my twelve year body!" he exclaimed with a grin.

…

.HELL?

Her face immediately erupted into a furious blush.

Is this really Naruto?

She was stunned speechless as no words escaped her lips right now, she couldn't speak after that.

"We'll reach faster this way," the whiskered blonde said over his shoulder before flash stepping out of the area.

A black blur could be seen blazing through the rooftops of Konoha, the streets now vacant due to the civilians excusing themselves to their homes earlier; probably because of the chilling cold.

'_Thank you Shiroi-chan, for everything. I don't what love is, but you are the closest person to me and I will never forget you. And maybe someday, when I know what love is….I would return your feelings,'_ he thought with a serene smile, glancing up at the glowing stars of the most eventful night of his life.

'_I hope you went to a better place,'_ he prayed, closing his eyes momentarily as they blurred towards his apartment while Rangiku found herself embarrassed as hell.

'_Thank kami that nobody from Seireitei is here right now, or else my reputation would have been ruined!'_ she thought in relief, though the tenth division lieutenant couldn't deny that she was enjoying herself right now.

**Timeskip: Several Hours Later: Midnight: Konoha: Naruto's Apartment**

Silence currently filled his warm apartment as both Naruto and Rangiku could be seen sleeping in the bedroom. The sleeping whiskered blonde right now was in his adult form, still wearing his shinigami garb with Haineko resting against the bedside.

Cuddled against him was the blonde lieutenant with a smile on her face, her head was currently resting against his chest while Naruto had his arm draped over her form as both of them slept on their sides; facing each other. Matsumoto was currently mumbling something incoherent as she looked to be dreaming about something, but considering the pink tint on her cheeks and the occasional giggle escaping her lips, it must be something good.

"S-Sake…..N-Naru-kun….Ramen! No Taichooo!" she moaned quietly, her voice muffled as she buried her face in the fabric of his garb….a childish pout on her face. Strangely, she tightened her hold on the blonde laying next to her, snuggling closer to him while she was wearing a pink night gown-sleeping comfortably under the thick warm blanket over both of them.

Beside her, indicated by the sweat beads on Naruto's face and the uncomfortable expression; he didn't seem to be having a good one though.

"N-No…stop….p-please….d-don't go!," there was a painful expression on his face as the blonde gritted his teeth, unconsciously clutching Rangiku closer to him making her 'hmm' in sleep.

"Shiroi-chan, please don't leave!" he exclaimed with a pleading expression on his face as her standing form in front of him started to glow white. Darkness surrounded them, there was no Konoha-only the two of them with Shiroi's glowing form being the only source of light.

"Farewell Naruto-kun. I love you and will always love you," she spoke with a smile as tears cascaded down his face. The blonde continued to beg her to not leave while her form slowly vanished, before it was nothing but darkness surrounding him.

"P-Please…just don't…." his voice full of anguish filled the dark void now, no source of light now there to guide him.

"I'm here too Naruto. Don't you dare give up yet," his eyes widened upon hearing a voice, he couldn't tell I if it was female or male just by the nature of it-it seemed a combination of both? But somehow, he felt familiar with it, like he had heard it before.

"Who's there?" he shouted when suddenly a single ray of white light penetrated the thick fog of pitch black darkness. Turning his head, his oceanic blue eyes widened upon seeing a distant glowing figure walking towards him. It just looked like a dot to him at this distance; only a bright dot of glowing light as the darkness around him slowly lifted itself.

"March forward…" it spoke again.

"….become stronger, live to cherish, fight to protect, ignore the beatable, climb the unbeatable. Let those threads of bonds weave your torn heart, let your tears forge your weapon. Stand valiantly, Uzumaki Naruto!" his eyes widened as the figure continued to glow while Naruto found himself trudging towards the approaching figure.

Suddenly though, he found the scene around him fading along with the glowing figure making him now run towards it.

"Hey wait!" he yelled but the world spun to slowly form something-a place exactly which he was familiar with.

"So, back to this old place huh?" he questioned himself as realization dawned on his face. Currently, the blonde was standing in an alley which he had seen uncountable times now.

'_That day…..,' _he thought with a frown, in his shinigami form right now. Walking forward, he climbed to the roof before opting for staring into the empty alley.

'_This should be a good view as always,' _he sighed to himself while running his hand through his spiky blonde locks. He turned his head upon hearing the sound of footsteps.

"Damn! It's a dead end!" he watched as his younger version exclaimed in frustration. The younger Naruto down there had torn clothes covering his petite form, multiple bruises on his body while he seemed to be panting heavily.

The recently formed shinigami just stared expressionless at 'himself' down there, knowing full well of what was about to happen down there. The event that he would never forget….or rather, found himself unable to forget even if he tried.

Turning his head, he saw those civilians from that day entering the alley, the usual sneers on their faces. They too seemed to be panting, probably due to chasing the young blonde for a long time.

"Finally caught you punk! This is the end for you!"

"I guess even Kami wants to kill you today! With Hokage-sama currently out of the village, we now have our chance after such a long time," they continued to speak with venom, glaring hatefully at the young blonde in front of them. The shinigami Naruto though smirked upon seeing his younger self's reaction to them.

"Meh, I don't care. Figures you idiots would need Kami's help to kill me. All of you are such weaklings!" the way young Naruto spoke casually, mocking them with a bored expression on his face as he stared up into the sky looked truly amusing to him now.

'_Heh, now that I thought. That was a pretty good plan back then,' _the adult Naruto mused with a smirk as he gazed at the enraged expressions of the civilians, murderous looks on their faces as they cracked their knuckles.

"WHAT did you say you demon!" one of them growled while the others opted to stay quiet, not wanting to alert any patrols of their 'party session'. The younger Naruto's face though suddenly turned serious as his eyes now gained a cold look, something which took them by surprise. No child can possibly have such eyes, the coldness and hatred radiating off them could be literally felt by them.

"To kill me, you need to form mobs," he simply said, implying the rest of it by just staring each of them dead in the eyes. Their eyes widened a bit at his sentence, somehow finding themselves a bit paralyzed by that look. And wasn't the air getting heavy around them, or were they just imagining things?

"To kill a six year old, you need this many people. I pity you, not one of you has the guts to come at me alone," this further pissed them off as they growled at him when one random guy with a considerable build walked in front.

"Fine then you demon! I guess we can accept your last wish," he growled, disgust in his voice before walking towards the young blonde.

"Make sure to leave some of him for us too!" the adult Naruto up there though was proud of the cold look and the fierce eyes that his young counterpart had put up in front of these idiots. But he also knew how much he was ready to piss his pants at that time, but atleast he had better chance of escaping with a single civilian back then instead of having the whole mob beat him simultaneously into a bloody pulp.

He had learned early on in life that he was alone in this, so with experience he knew that it was pretty easy to manipulate these villagers using their own emotions against them. Begging for them to stop, showing fear in his eyes would only make matters worse; he had learned that too through 'experience'. Nonetheless, it was a bonus if they sometimes came without weapons, like this time.

"So asshole, let's see if you can handle even one of us," the well built tall guy spat as he punched his palm while young Naruto backed up against the wall, his eyes could be seen reflecting the amount of fear he was currently experience. But nevertheless, he was still portraying himself to be a 'calm gorgeous woman surrounded by testosterone charged estrogen starved rapists' in a deserted alley.

"Take THIS!" with a loud shout, he reared his fist for it to blaze towards the cornered Naruto whose eyes widened.

WHAM!

The wall cracked under the pressure as the pieces of concrete flew outwards with a small crater being formed on the wall. Dust covered both of them as the curtain slowly unveiled itself to show the man's fist buried deep into the wall. Inches away from the fist was Naruto's face, whose form was currently trembling with his eyes wide as if he had seen a ghost.

"H-How could you dodge it? No child should be able to do that!" he exclaimed in anger while the blonde seemed to be distracted, or rather disturbed as he stared at his hands covering which were faintly visible purple lightning streaks. Noticing his hands, the civilian's eyes widened.

"Y-You MONSTER!" he yelled before going for a kick at the blonde who this time seemed to be just staring blankly at his trembling hands when the foot connected with his gut.

"GAH!" he exclaimed in pain as he was smashed against the wall, making the crater deep while the man panted a bit, an enraged expression on his face whereas those behind him seemed to enjoy that.

The blonde shinigami however closed his eyes, his arms calmly folded over his chest.

'_This is just a dream! Snap out of it damn it!' _he yelled mentally, still trying to calm himself. This was something he did not need right now; he did not want to deal with this.

"So, you liked that you fucker!" the man growled with narrowed eyes while young Naruto fell to his knees, coughing violently as blood oozed down his chin. He was currently clutching his stomach in immense pain, his eyes tightly clenched while he gritted his teeth in what seemed to be a mixture of pain and anger.

"L…Leave…." he spoke in between his coughs as the blonde struggled to stand while he could feel his insides getting healed quickly, however the influx of anger that now enveloped him caused him to stand despite the pain he was feeling.

"Speak loudly demon, I can't hear you. Last time I heard, you were roaring all across the village six years ago. What happened now?" he spoke with bile dripping from each syllable when he heard the blonde in front of him growl.

"Leave me ALONE!" Naruto yelled as suddenly the air got too heavy around them.

"W-Wha-arrghh!" the man found himself suddenly on his knees as the pressure got too much, founding himself difficult to breathe.

'_If I learn to willing pour out my reiatsu in my real body like that, it will be pretty handy to intimidate my opponents,'_ the adult one thought as he gazed at himself from the roof with an unreadable expression. However, he had to admit he looked pretty cool when his anger induced reiatsu increased resulting in his spiky locks being lifted into midair as they began to hover because of his reiatsu.

Down there, lightning streaks were now visible as they screeched around his body, even his hair. Rocks and pieces of concrete now began to hover in midair by some unknown force. It was pretty extraordinary if you thought, while others were being pressed down due to this pressure, everything around him within a small distance was flowing in midair.

"Leave!" the way young Naruto spoke with such coldness, his eyes as if glowing purple further scared the civilians as they were now writhing on the ground like a fish.

"W-Wha…." the young blonde stuttered as a humongous pressure settled on the area suddenly making even him fell to his knees as he panted for air.

'_Even with my own reiatsu in effect, that person's spiritual pressure was so much that even I couldn't stand in its presence,'_ shinigami Naruto thought as he stood on the roof, staring at the panting form of himself while the other civilians were laying flat on the ground, the pressure being too much for them.

"What's h-happening?" young Naruto managed to choke out as he lifted his head for them to widen considerable.

SQUELCH!

SLOSH!

SLASH!

He stared in mind boggling shock as blood splashed out everywhere, painting the walls of the alley. Within seconds, all the groaning sounds were consumed into pin drop silence as the civilian corpses lay there unmoved.

His breathing hitched in his throat when the pressure further increased making him plummet into the ground, his jaw now scratching the dirt.

"You're an interesting one, Uzumaki Naruto," a smooth voice filled the alley from all directions as Naruto struggled to retain his consciousness, finding his eyelids getting heavy all of a sudden. His own reiatsu now had completely died out, so as the lighting around him.

"I wonder, if you will be able to handle it," and that was the last thing he heard before losing consciousness.

His eyes snapped open, thankfully his body hadn't jerked this time unlike previous times. Only the sounds of his panting could be heard in the bedroom of his apartment as he stared at the ceiling. Lifting his hand, he wiped his forehead off the sweat as his breathing gradually evened.

'_That dream again huh? It's been six years already, why does it still haunt me even today?'_ he mulled over with a frown. He hadn't told anyone, and he was sure no one else knew- but he has been having these dreams since that day. The blonde didn't knew what was so special about the day that his sub consciousness frequently showed him. Well, that event was extremely strange if he considered it actually.

What he felt back then was reiatsu, now that he knew what it was. But considering no shinobi or civilian would know how to manipulate their reiatsu, then it could only be a shinigami back then….no it could also be a hollow. But, if it was hollow, then why would it leave him alive? He still remembered waking up in the hospital a week after the incident.

At that time, Hiruzen was sitting beside him along with Mikoto. They were worried about him as even the medics had told them that there was nothing wrong with him, it was just like he had slipped into a mini-coma after that night. What happened after he lost consciousness was a mystery to him? However, he was thankful for that night as him slipping into that mini-coma had really worried the Hokage. Usually Naruto's wounds would heal almost overnight, but this had greatly worried the old Sarutobi. And hence, he had decided to enroll Naruto into the academy, which the whiskered blonde had been begging for several months back then.

'_But what was that dream I had before this usual one?'_ he pondered with a concentrated expression on his face, it was still blurry. Giving a loud sigh, he gave up on remembering it.

Finally coming back from his thoughts to the living world, he scanned the room idly, noticing his watering window; due to the chilling cold. Suddenly his body went rigid upon hearing a moan besides him, and the nature of the moan stirred something inside of him. He didn't know how to describe it, it was very….attractive? Melody to his ears?

Shifting his gaze to the form beside him, his face erupted into a dark blush upon noticing how close Rangiku was to him. They were both practically rubbing against each other, he had to admit much to his embarrassment thought; it really felt good, warm and comfortable.

'_Whoa, she smells really good?'_ he unconsciously thought upon having a whiff of her flawless skin of her…._'cough' _cleavage, before the blonde averted his gaze when he found himself staring there.

'_Damn, what's wrong with me? I never thought of her before like this?'_ he thought in frustration. Could this be because of his adult body? Is that why she literally demanded with puppy dog eyes that he sleep in his shinigami form today? So that she could torture him like that? However, his flushed face turned darker when he noticed their legs intermingled with each other

'_WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE?'_ he inwardly cried anime tears, not knowing how to handle himself in such a situation. Naruto sweatdropped when a giggle escaped her lips, whose face was currently snuggled into his chest.

'_How the hell did we even end up like this?'_ he thought in bewilderment, he was sure they had slept at their sides. Oh well, not that it had happened for the first time.

'_Come to think of it, this happens daily,'_ he thought in realization making him shake his head before a chuckle escaped his lips. Unintentionally, as if on automation, he pulled her closer to him as the blonde hugged her protectively with a smile.

'_Wait! What am I doing?'_ he berated himself mentally, but it felt good? Her body was really soft and warm. However, he knew if Matsumoto ever comes to know of this, she would embarrass him to hell.

'_But oh well, I have to admit this feels good,' _he thought with a warm smile before snuggling his face into her blonde hair, enjoying the scent while she moaned-as if in appreciation, a serene smile on her beautiful face.

A sigh escaped his lips as he recalled what had happened earlier tonight. Shiroi….he just couldn't get that last expression before she had left out of his mind. That smile, that peaceful smile she had on her face- it made her look more beautiful than ever. He would never forget that smile of hers, never.

Shifting his gears, he then began to think of his training. He needed something to distract him from the event earlier today. A frown settled on his features as he gauged his progress, he was progressing he knew that. But, he was becoming restless now. Half a month had already gone by but he still couldn't build up chakra, manipulating it would come under the chakra control section-the next step he wasn't ready for yet.

Even Rangiku had learned to build and manipulate chakra over the half month. She already had experience in controlling her reiryoku, and although chakra is more difficult to control; she was able to do it. He had even seen her performing the basic techniques and just a few days ago she had learned the shadow clone technique, which he had to admit was extremely effective and helpful. It frustrated him that building chakra, something which even eight year olds could do so easily-was turning out to be such an obstacle for him.

'_I can't just lay here, I have to do something. Time is running out, I have to train!' _feeling himself getting anxious over the matter, Naruto knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep now.

Lifting his head, he smiled at Rangiku; who had this really cute pout on her face-must be dreaming something. Slowly 'detaching' himself from her, getting a moan of disapproval from her in the process, damn she was really clingy- not that he could complain.

Getting up, he covered her with the blanket before attaching Haineko's sheath to himself. Exiting the room, he sweat dropped upon seeing his body sprawled over on the couch-like it was thrown carelessly like an empty ramen cup. Entering his 'permanent gigai', Naruto slowly opened his eyes. Getting off the couch, his knees trembled a bit before he found himself falling.

"AaaaAAgh!"

Thud!

He groaned in pain before lifting himself shakily.

"My body's numb, damn!" he got up before stretching his arms and legs, trying to get the 'feel' back.

Taking his black jacket, the blonde exited his apartment quietly-locking it from the outside.

**Konoha: The Damned Nearest Training Ground to his Apartment!**

"Ugh, now I regret coming out of that warm blanket to corrode in this crappy winter," Naruto whined as he rubbed his hands together. Walking towards the center, he gazed here and there to get a 'feel' of his surroundings.

"Alright, no complaints! I have to focus on my training! I have to become stronger!" he said with determination. Before starting, the blonde did several warm up exercises to get the 'feel' of it.

Several minutes later, seeing that his muscles were well 'lubricated', he proceeded for the 'main course'. Sighing to himself, he stood up straight before wiping the sweat off his eyebrow. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on what Ayame had told him at the beginning of his training fifteen days ago.

"_Listen carefully Naruto-kun. In your case, there are two ways for you to form stable chakra. One way, is for you to increase your physical energy so that it levels your spiritual energy. We do that by training your body physically. Thus, you can form perfectly stable chakra with physical energy and your reiryoku being balanced. Now the second way, for this you have to learn to control your reiryoku upto a certain level. This will serve the purpose of making you stronger as a shinigami as well as forming stable chakra, we will be hitting two birds with one stone. _

_For this to work, suppose you have '2x' amount of reiryoku while the amount of physical energy you possess is 'x'. Controlling your reiryoku precisely, you have pick up only 'x' amount out of '2x' and combine it with your physical energy, thus leading to the formation of stable chakra. Do note that this requires a good deal of control over your reiryoku, so you have to train hard in this as well."_

"Okay, my physical energy has not yet caught upto my 'reiryoku' levels….err, which I actually doubt will ever happen. I'll just have to train in combining the required amount of spiritual energy with physical energy," nodding to himself, the blonde crouched a bit on his knees before holding his hands in a 'ram' hand sign.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his reiryoku in his 'real' body.

'_I have to pick a specific amount of it, and combine it with my physical energy,'_ he repeated mentally as now a purple glow covered his body. It slowly dimmed to nothing as a bead of sweat streamed down the side of his face.

BOOM!

A large amount of purple-blue chakra suddenly burst forth his body like an explosion, making violent gusts of wind flow around him. Changing the hand sign, he performed the familiar 'criss-cross' sign.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" he exclaimed with closed eyes when a large number of puffs of _dense___smoke occurred all around him. Opening his eyes, he stared hopefully at the smoke curtains but he knew he had done something wrong.

'_I think I picked up larger amount of reiryoku than required,'_ he thought to himself with a sigh, and as expected-the smoke cleared up to show him the familiar rotten corpses of himself; making him shudder.

'_I still don't know how to dispel them. Jiji said to just mentally think so, and they would vanish. It sure doesn't work in my case,' _Naruto thought mentally in embarrassment. So ignoring the 'corpses', he again tried it. His body was again flared by purple-blue chakra when he performed the shadow clone technique. This time however, the puffs of smoke were smaller than before but similar in number. The only other difference being however was that his 'dead' doppelgangers were well defined than before….no other way to describe them.

'_I think this time I picked up lesser than required,' _he thought with twitching eyebrows. How was he supposed the pinpoint the exact amount needed? He has been trying these past days, but this was extremely difficult with his reiryoku reserves.

"But I can't give up! I've gotta try harder! I've been doing nothing but reiryoku control training these past fifteen days, I've got to succeed now!" he exclaimed to himself with unparalleled fortitude, his electric blue eyes fierce with resolve.

**Several Hours Later**

"OH DAMMIT!" Naruto yelled in frustration as he kicked a pebble, his one eye closed as the blonde panted heavily in exhaustion. Around him were laying those countless 'beautiful' corpses he had handcrafted himself. The sight was so extraordinary that the ground was littered with these dead clones while many of them were hanging by the tree branches surrounding the area, just like wet clothes.

His whole body was sweaty as he stared at his 'training' with a sigh.

"Oh well….I'll keep trying this every day. I'll just have to be patient about this, no use getting all worked up on this in just a couple of hours," he tried to calm himself, taking deep breaths while strangely a small crater had formed beneath his feet.

"You know, I've been observing for some hours now. I just don't get what you're trying to achieve by wasting your chakra like that and creating these dead bodies."

His eyes widened upon hearing a voice behind him. Snapping his head back, he stared at the female standing with a smirk on her face.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked with narrowed eyes, his blue eyes radiating nothing but coldness similar to the outside weather. The female in front of him- who currently was staring at the 'dead' clones with amusement and curiosity- immediately appealed to the blonde as a mixture of beautiful and sexy. Strangely, she seemed to be chewing on a thin food stick while it looked like she was still examining his clones with mild interest.

"I asked who are you?" the blonde asked cautiously, his hands sneakily taking out a kunai from the pouch on his hip. His eyes though suddenly widened in shock when she just vanished into a blur from his sight.

'_So fast!'_

The hand holding the kunai, still behind his back was suddenly grabbed roughly before being put in a lock making him wince in pain.

"Aghh!"

Taking the kunai from his hand at lightning speeds, she twirled it around her finger before pressing it to his cheek in a reverse grip.

Naruto's heart was thumping his chest wildly as he found himself unable to move, the cold metal of his kunai pressed against his cheek drawing a thin line of blood.

His mouth opened in astonishment upon feeling a soft appendage run over the cut on his cheek. His body shuddered involuntarily upon feeling her hot breath on his neck.

'_She licked me!'_

"Hmm, you're delicious gaki!"

**Meh, you probably know who she is? For those of you who still have no idea….go and watch 'Mickey Mouse', that's better for you. ;) (lol jk!)**

**Hope this chapter wasn't boring for you guys, and the plot is beginning to twist. SO sit tight! ^_^**

**NEXT CHAPTER(****had to put in capital for those who skip A/N lol)- So in the next chapter, we directly jump to the graduation exams with some minor flashbacks to fill in the gaps. The stage is set for the upcoming events, and we are ready for action!**

**Thanks to those who have constantly reviewing, lol even to those who have occasionally reviewed. Thank you! Oh yeah, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you guys in advance! Enjoy your holidays!**

**And please review, it really inspires me to update soon. :D**

**N6023**


	9. The Conflicting Day of Graduation!

**Hey guys! Thanks for the review! And I know this is going slow at the moment, but have some more patience. This is gonna get better! :)**

**And if you're wondering of when he will gain his own shinigami powers, it will take some time considering there are still many events that have to happen before that. So hold your horses! **

**Chapter-9****-The Conflicted Day of Graduation!**

"I asked who are you?" the blonde asked cautiously, his hands sneakily taking out a kunai from the pouch on his hip. His eyes though suddenly widened in shock when she just vanished into a blur from his sight.

'_So fast!'_

The hand holding the kunai, still behind his back was suddenly grabbed roughly before being put in a lock making him wince in pain.

"Aghh!"

Taking the kunai from his hand at lightning speeds, she twirled it around her finger before pressing it to his cheek in a reverse grip.

Naruto's heart was thumping his chest wildly as he found himself unable to move, the cold metal of his kunai pressed against his cheek drawing a thin line of blood.

His mouth opened in astonishment upon feeling a soft appendage run over the cut on his cheek. His body shuddered involuntarily upon feeling her hot breath on his neck.

'_She licked me!'_

"Hmm, you're delicious gaki!" his eyes widened in a mixture of 'WTF' and horror.

'_Holy crap! Is she a man eater, vampire or something?'_ the blonde mentally freaked out as both of them stood there while he could feel her assets pressing against his back making him blush a bit.

'_Hmm….she's close to Rangiku-chan,'_ he mentally contemplated before she released him.

"Easy there gaki, I'm not here to attack you or anything. So don't worry, I'm an 'Anti-Demon Hater'," she spoke with a grin while Naruto flexed his right arm before turning back somewhat lazily to face her.

"Eh? Anti…Demon-Hater?" he asked with a confused expression on his face making her grin wider as she nodded furiously.

"Yep, the one who doesn't hate you!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm in her voice, hands on her hips while the grin didn't seem to leave her face. Naruto however stared at her awkwardly, this lady….sure was strange.

"The one who doesn't hate me huh? But the fact that you call yourself 'Anti-Demon Hater' indicates that even though you don't hate me, you still consider me a demon," he said with a bored look on his face, pointing an accusing finger at her when her grin faltered.

"Hmm, well you do have a point gaki. Oh I know, I'll be an Anti-Naruto Hater then!" she again chirped with a smile making him narrow his eyes.

'_So she knows my name,'_ he thought as the blonde clenched his fist, his body posture indicating that he was far from relaxed in presence of her. Immediately noticing his tense form, she couldn't help but ask- a serious expression on her face now.

"I think I told you I mean you no harm gaki," she uttered seriously, her tone now completely changed taking Naruto by surprise; but nonetheless he managed to keep a serious face.

"What you say means nothing to me lady. The fact that you know my name speaks everything," he verbalized with a frown as now both of them stood several feet from each other when an expression of curiousness wiped her serious façade.

"Oh, now what do you mean by that?"

"You're a kunoichi obviously, and from the way you moved so swiftly just now combined with the fact that I couldn't sense your presence earlier, I'd say you're a jounin or tokubetsu jounin. I've never met you before, but you know my name and even call yourself an Anti-Demon Hater, which means you came to know about me from either the villagers or your peers. Since ninety nine percent of the village hates me, then that means they filled you about only the negative things like how I shouldn't be allowed to live, how I'm a disgrace to this village or how I kill other people to 'satiate my bloodlust'," he spoke the last part while rolling his eyes whereas Anko had widened eyes as she stared at the 'gaki' when he continued.

"This leads me to believe that your mind is filled with all kinds of crap about me, so normally your mind would lean towards the negative side concerning me and would despise me. Now there are two kinds of people from here on, one who become indifferent towards the matter and completely ignore me. Second are the ones who decide to act on their negative emotions and try to beat to an inch of my life, or simply kill me. Since you didn't decide to ignore me and were watching me for the past several hours, it means MOST probably that you're here to kill me or beat me. So, what's your game lady? If you think acting nice, friendly towards me is gonna make me an easy kill, then you're mistaken. But what confuses me is that since you're a jounin or something, you could easily beat me. Then why go through the trouble to act so friendly with me? It could only mean that you want something from me. SO, spill it out lady-san," he finished while glaring at the gaping jounin in front of him as a breeze flew by them mysteriously.

The purple haired kunoichi had her mouth open in shock, her eyes widened as she stared at the twelve year old boy in wonder.

'_This kid…..'_ she thought in astonishment while the blonde kept his gaze. Coming over her initial shock, a candid grin spread across her face making Naruto a bit uneasy.

"Damn, you're one amazing kid blondie," she spoke with sincerity in her voice making Naruto's eyes widen before he composed himself. Before he could say anything, she spoke again.

"Okay, I'm serious here now. Naruto…." she called making him narrow his eyes further.

"Seeing that most children in the academy hate you too, you must complain about how they judge you blindly just cause their parents told them to. That how they don't know the real you, that how they don't give you a chance, right?" she asked making his eyes widen a bit.

'_How, did she know? Is she a Yamanaka or something with her hair dyed to hide her identity?'_ he thought in alarm that she might have read his thoughts or that he was being spied by her.

"So what?" he asked with a frown.

"Then what about you? You too are treating me with hostility just cause other people treat you as such. Do you think you're giving me any chance?" she asked with a serious expression making him stumble back a bit in surprise, no words coming out of his mouth.

'_Okay okay! Just calm down here,'_ he thought while taking a deep breath, never taking his eyes off her.

"I see then, you must be an interrogator," he concluded with a smirk making her eyebrows lift in surprise.

"What makes you think so?" she asked in curiosity making him shrug.

"First you predicted my thoughts based on the way I was treated, which only means that you know exactly how a human mind works. And then you take advantage of it by trying to pressurize me on my thoughts and speech, trying to make me mentally as well emotionally insecure. That's something an interrogator expert knows extremely well how to do, to play around the enemy's mental defense until you find a loophole just to manipulate it to reach your objectives. So don't play that on me, I've read about all that," he spoke loudly making her whistle in amazement.

"Now that's impressive gaki! You have amazing analytical abilities, yet you have failed two times in the academy already?" now she had hit a sore spot as Naruto grit his teeth in annoyance, his fists clenched.

"So what's it to you? I can't form stable chakra, and thus can't perform the clone technique! It's not like they will pass me if I possess the ability to think something which is beyond normal!" he growled loudly, frustration clearly visible in his eyes while the kunoichi's eyes softened at that.

"Anko….Mitarashi Anko, that's my name," she spoke a lot softly this time while Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing the name.

'_Anko? The snake bi….'_ his thoughts trailed as he stared at her in shock while Anko smirked at the look of realization on his face.

"Oh, looks like you've heard about me too gaki," now she grinned again while he continued to gaze at her in disbelief.

"Surprised? So it seems that you're aware that both of us are the village pariahs."

"Why? Why are you here? You never came to meet me before, what's the reason now," he spoke making her sigh.

"Gaki, you're way too paranoid for your own good. As I said before, I happen to stumble around this area when I found you training. Seeing the whisker marks, it was not hard to indentify you and so I became interested in the way you were just wasting your humongous chakra reserves," she verbalized with a smirk making him sweatdrop as he stared at his feet in embarrassment.

'_It looks like she means no harm, after all…she was treated just like me. Oh well, I'll take my chances,'_ he pondered with a sigh before somewhat loosening his body which Anko noticed, her lips curling upwards in a sincere smile.

"So, what are you doing this late at night?" Naruto asked off handedly as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Well, I couldn't sleep," she answered somewhat uneasily making him stare at her before he nodded.

"You say you're chakra is not stable. I've never heard of a case like that gaki," she spoke as the blonde averted his gaze in thought.

'_Now what do I tell her? I can't possibly tell her about the shinigami stuff and all,'_ he thought before speaking carefully.

"You see, the spiritual energy in my body is much higher than the physical energy. So whenever I try building up chakra, it's always unstable. For the past several hours, I was trying to form stable chakra," he uttered making her blink in surprise.

"That's….something unheard of," she muttered making Naruto sigh somewhat dejectedly.

'_Must be because of the Kyuubi,' _she mused.

"But not something that can't be cured," Anko spoke with a smile making him look at her confusion.

"It's simple, you build up your physical energy."

"Yeah, I've been already doing that. But it's a slow process, and I've only got fifteen more days now. That's why I'm trying to somehow, just anyhow form stable chakra," he mumbled while gazing at his dead clones when a devilish grin took birth on her face.

"It's even more simple then gaki. You just have to increase your training then, and I think I can help you with that," he snapped his head to look at her with wide eyes.

"You're willing to help me?" he asked, as if not able to believe his ears while she just shook her head in exasperation.

"Yeah, so from now on, right at this moment-your training starts!" she exclaimed loudly with a torturous glint in her eyes before the purple haired kunoichi took out several shuriken from her sleeves.

"O-Oi wait! What are you planning?" Naruto asked as his feet automatically began to back away, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

"I'm gonna make sure you pass the exams this time Naruto! So get ready for a fifteen days trip to HELL!" she shouted with that psychotic look in her eyes before throwing those shuriken at him at blundering velocity as they went whizzing through the chilly air.

'_Oh HELL!'_ Naruto thought with an expression of horror on his face as the kunai approached him, which itself seemed to be grinning at the blonde's plight.

**Timeskip: 15 Days Later: The Day of Academy Graduation Exams: Konoha**

The sun peeped through the window of Naruto's bedroom, illuminating the blonde's sun kissed hair as he shifted a bit in his sleep; an expression of annoyance on his face.

"Damn you Amaterasu," he mumbled in his sleep, pulling the blanket to cover his face from the offending rays.

SWOOSH!

"OHAYOU NARU-KUUUUNN!" he groaned in irritation as a familiar shout rung his ears open.

_'Damn you woman!'_ he mentally cursed before slowly opening his eyes to gaze into fresh, bright and enthusiastic sky blue orbs. Currently he was laying on his side, in his shinigami form with his real body tucked safely under a blanket on the couch.

Rubbing his electric blue eyes further lazily, he noticed Matsumoto's face a couple of inches away from his- a cheerful expression on her face. His gaze lowering down a bit, he noticed the towel wrapped around her wet body, tightly clinging to it as it showed all her luscious curves.

Currently she was bending down to his level, so it was not a shocking fact that her usually visible cleavage was more visible than normal. Even the towel seemed to be strained as it struggled to hold her voluptous assets. It was clear that she had taken a bath, if the enticing pearly drops of water on her skin were not enough of an evidence that is.

"Ohayou Naru-kun," she again spoke, much quieter this time with a sweet giggle, her wet blonde locks framing her beautiful and fresh face. The fresh scent of a mixture of soap and her shampoo that invaded his nostrils was definitely a pleasurable sensation. Shockingly, Naruto however had a bored lazy look on his face as he continued to stare into her eyes, seemingly not being affected by the 'view' in front of him.

"Goodnight Rangiku-chan," he muttered before shifting on his side to face the other side as he closed his eyes with a contended sigh. Anko had literally drilled him into the ground these past fifteen days, and yesterday was no exception. He was damn tired and needed a bit more sleep before the exams, which were to start in a couple of hours.

Rangiku Matsumoto however, just stared wide eyed at where his face was a moment ago. Was she dreaming? Did Naruto really ignore her, especially when she was just dressed in a towel only. For the first time after meeting the whiskered blonde, she felt anger bubbling inside her towards him.

A dangerous frown settled on her face as she clenched her fists, her eyebrows twitching while her cheeks were getting red with anger.

Subconsciously sensing a reiatsu spike _nearby_, Naruto snapped his eyes open. Just when he was about to get up...

"OOF!" he exclaimed when someone landed on top of him as the bed creaked a bit under the sudden pressure. Having the air knocked out of him, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as he found Rangiku sitting on his waist with a frown on her face.

"R-Rang-" he was interrupted when the said blonde lieutenant grabbed both of his wrists to pin them to the bed beside his head.

"W-What are you doing?" he asked a bit startled, his eyes widening when he again gazed at her form. Just when Matsumoto was about to unleash her wrath, he yelled suddenly.

"OH HOLY SHIT! THIS IS NOT A DREAM! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE THAT?" his face was now flushed scarlet red as Naruto found himself unable to avert his gaze from the sight in front of him.

Rangiku however blinked comically in surprise at seeing his reaction, so he thought he was dreaming earlier? However, upon fully registering his words, a pink tint covered her cheeks as she averted her gaze.

"Y-You dream of me?" she asked, uncharacteristically timid as her hold on his wrists loosened while Naruto continued to stare at her 'assets'. His eyes though widened upon hearing her, a whole new shade of red overtaking his face in embarrassment.

"O-Of course not! Why would you think so?"

"Cause you said so," she deadpanned making him sweatdrop. A devilish grin however took birth on her face as she tightened her hold on his wrists before leaning down while the blush on his cheeks darkened again.

"W-What are y..." he trailed as the enticing scent of her body again flared his system.

"Admit it, you dream of me," she whispered seductively into his ears, pressing her breasts onto his chest while Naruto found a certain part of his anatomy waking up at that. Finding himself unable to do anything under her iron grip, the blonde sighed.

_'Well what could happen at the maximum if I admit,'_ he thought while finding the sensations coursing through his body pleasurable.

"I...I do," he stated while Matsumoto's cheeks flared red as she kept her face besides his so that he wouldn't notice.

_'What's happening? He dreams of me, why does it makes me so happy? Probably so many guys dream about me in soul society, then why?'_

Sensing her distracted state, Naruto quickly jerked himself off, flipping her in the process as now he was the one on top of her. Matsumoto's eyes widened in surprise as he grinned at her foxily, both of her wrists being held by his hands. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear huskily.

"Now you admit it, you dream about me too," her heart was now practically thumping her chest, her cheeks heated as she found herself excited under his strong hold, being dominated like this by him.

"N-No..." her response trailed as his muscular chest pressed against her breasts tightly making her close her eyes in pleasure. Smirking challengingly at her response, Naruto didn't know what came over him as he lightly bit on her soft and wet earlobe.

Rangiku's eyes snapped wide open in surprise as she bit her lower lip to prevent a moan from escaping her lips.

_'Naruto...'_ her thoughts trailed in surprise for she hadn't expected the blonde to do this, she wasn't complaining though. As embarrassing as it was to admit, she had dreamed of him doing these things to her. She didn't know what to call it, was it just a crush on him? But in reality, he was only twelve years old and she..._'cough' _nothing more needed to be said.

Rangiku however couldn't deny the feelings she had unconsciously developed for the whiskered blonde this past month. He never ceased to amaze her, he was always so bright and never let anything bring him down-not to mention he was hot in his shinigami form, and really cute in his human form. The only time she had seen him sad was when Shiroi had left them, and she found herself oddly squealing at the fact that she was the one who had comforted the blonde at that time, the one who had made him smile.

Her earlobe still between his teeth, Naruto left it as he inhaled her heavenly scent, his breathing getting heavier by the second. He could've swore that he heard a moan of disappointment escape her lips.

"Admit it," he again whispered huskily before licking her earlobe again as her body jerked upwards a bit at the contact.

Matsumoto, wanting him to continue whatever he was doing, replied almost immediately.

"No!" she exclaimed making Naruto's eyes widen a bit in surprise. Frowning a bit at her response, he oddly felt satisfied at her answer.

_'Oh I'll make you admit it!'_ he mentally decided, now noticing in shock that instead of holding her wrists, he was now holding her hands with their fingers intermingled gently.

"No," she again moaned, afraid that he hadn't heard her earlier. Her eyes were closed while a light blush covered her smooth and soft cheeks. Now finding himself unable to hold back, his throbbing hard member being the indication- Naruto left her right hand before he started to cup her wet cheek gently.

Matsumoto, who didn't care about anything but the blonde on top of her right now, leaned into his touch when Naruto lifted himself to gaze into her face. His breathing somehow became more laboured at seeing the vulnerable expression on her face, her slightly parted pink wet lips became the focus of his attention now.

"Say it Rangiku-chan," he again spoke quietly, this time a little teasingly when she opened her hazy sky blue eyes to stare into his oceanic blue ones.

"No," her whisper this time was almost inaudible as she continued to stare into Naruto's mesmerising blue eyes. Naruto too however found himself unable to break the eye-contact as he slowly began to close the gap.

"Say it..."

"No," their lips now only inches away from each other as Rangiku slowly closed her eyes, licking her lower lip in a tantalising way as the blonde continued to close the gap. Closing his eyes, he slightly parted his lips...

_"I love you Naruto-kun, and will always love you."_

Shiroi's smiling face, the last expression she had on her face before leaving him flashed into his mind making him stop suddenly.

Matsumoto, noticing the lack of contact eventually opened her eyes in confusion to notice Naruto staring at her with wide eyes.

"N-Naru-kun?" she spoke quietly when the whiskered shinigami abruptly got off her to stand besides the bed, an expression of embarrassment and guilt on his face.

"I-I'm sorry Rangiku-chan! It was my fault, I didn't mean to do that. I'm extremely sorry!" he exclaimed while bowing a bit. Rangiku however found herself flabbergasted at what was transpiring in front of her.

"Naruto..." she spoke softly, gazing at him with a mixture of sad, disappointed and confused expression on her face. Lifting himself up, the blonde felt his heart clench at seeing the sadness in her eyes but he just chose to ignore it for the moment.

"I'm really sorry Rangiku-chan. I shouldn't have crossed the line like that. Please dress up!" he said, in the process grabbing Haineko before leaving the bedroom to give her privacy, and to get some for himself too.

Silence caressed the warm room as the blonde lieutenant of the tenth division found herself unable to move from her sitting position on the bed. She couldn't explain what had come over her, but at that moment...kissing him felt so right. Being in his arms, having him on top of her, having their heart beats synchronise with each other, teasing each other- it all felt so right.

Over the month, she knew that she was falling for him. Rangiku was an honest woman and most of the time wasn't afraid to admit even the most of embarrassing things. She knew she atleast liked Naruto romantically, hence why she continuously flirted with him along with teasing of course. So in the end, she wasn't afraid to admit it. But she also knew how naive Naruto is, and even though he's far more mature than kids of his age; she knew he wouldn't be able to decipher his feelings for her- if he had them in the first place that is.

_'Does he...does he like me too?'_ she thought, inwardly groaning at the idea of her peers embarrassing her to hell. The immune Rangiku Matsumoto, the busty lieutenant who could make any male dance around her like a crazed puppy, was falling for a twelve year human.

_'No...he looks far more mature in his spiritual form...so I'll say about eighteen,'_ she pondered with a smile. However, a blush spread across her cheeks as she recalled the feeling of him being on top of her.

_'Oh the way he touched me...'_ she thought before grabbing the pillow and squealing into it like a little school girl. Today, he had shown her a side of himself she didn't know existed. His warm gentle hand on her cheek, his lips on her earlobe...she didn't know Naruto had it in him, he was in complete control at that moment-and she enjoyed every moment of it. Her dreamy expression though turned into a sad one as she remembered the panicked expression on his face.

_'Does this mean that he doesn't like me?'_ she thought in sadness, clutching the pillow tightly as Matsumoto felt her heart constrict at the possibility. She suddenly though shook her head furiously.

_'No! I cannot give up! The way he blushes when I tease him, the way he smiles at me...I just know he has some feelings for me, he just doesn't realise it. But then why did he pull back, there has to be something that's bothering him!'_ deep in thought, Rangiku bit her lower lip as she contemplated on how to approach him.

**Naruto's Apartment: Outside the Bedroom**

Right now, we find the blonde sitting on a couch in his original body. His face was currently buried in his palms as he seemed to be deeply submerged into his thoughts.

_'What was I doing back then? What was that? Why did I feel like that?'_ Naruto thought as he put a hand on his chest, his heart still beating like crazy.

_'What's happening to me?'_ he again mused, not knowing what came over him back then. He knew how beautiful and attractive Rangiku was, there was no denying that fact. Even in the village, she- a tokubetsu jounin was fairly famous among the male population considering her looks and charms.

_'And we were just going to k-kiss,'_ a blush now creeping upto his cheeks as he gulped audibly. Just thinking about it made him nervous, he had never kissed a woman except Shiroi. And he would greatly treasure that kiss forever, his first kiss- even though if it was pretty one sided by Shiroi considering he was shocked at that moment.

_'I think Rangiku-chan must like me to allow me to touch her like that. Generally, a girl like Sakura-chan would've hit me immediately but...I think I like Rangiku-chan too,'_ he mulled over with a dark blush before shaking his head furiously.

_'But still, Shiroi-chan said that she loved me. Wouldn't it make her sad if I be with another girl?' _his face dropped as he considered the possibility with a sigh.

"I don't want her to be sad," he mumbled to himself with sadness in his eyes. It still made his eyes water up whenever he thought of Shiroi and the time they had spent with each other, he still hadn't gotten over it...

"And to be honest, I don't think I'll ever get over it," he whispered to himself while wiping his eyes off a little moisture when the door to his bedroom suddenly opened.

Turning his head at the sound, his eyes widened just a little bit as Rangiku walked out in her usual shinobi outfit. Currently, her torso comprised of a garb whose design was the same as that of a shinigami one except that the black was replaced by dark blue while the white stripes being replaced by sky blue color. The sash/obi was a light shade of red while the skirt reaching upto her knees was dark blue in color with two slits on either of her sides along the thighs. Beneath the skirt was a fishnet covering her thighs upto her knees, wrapped around which was her kunai and shuriken holster. As expected, plenty of her cleavage was revealed which worked both as a 'distraction' and as she liked to call it-'her fashion statement in the world of shinobi'. Attached to the sash was her katana she had bought this past month considering she was proficient in zanjutsu/kenjutsu due to her shinigami training. She was a tokubetsu jounin-kenjutsu specialist actually, something which was rare in Konoha.

"Hey," she spoke with a smile, her beautiful face practically glowing; her cheeks a light shade of pink while Naruto found himself unable to avert his gaze from her.

Smiling a bit shyly at her, the blonde couldn't say anything as he turned his head to look the other way.

_'What is WRONG with me? Why am I feeling so nervous in her presence? It never happened before, why today? Is it because of the academy graduation exams? Or...is it because of what we did earlier?'_ he thought with a blush, his palms sweaty as he struggled to come to terms with his feelings. Matsumoto however continued to stand there as she gazed at the blonde, she knew he was getting nervous. However, her eyes also reflected sadness she was currently feeling. She didn't want for them to be like this. Usually they were so carefree in each other's presence, they would laugh like crazy, they would prank like crazy, they didn't care for anything else except each other right then.

But right now, things were tense between them. Seeing that something was troubling him, she walked upto him before putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Naru-kun, is...," she trailed when the whiskered blonde had suddenly jerked off his seat like something acidic had touched him. Rangiku's eyes softened as her lips curled down a bit in sadness at seeing him react like that.

Currently he was facing her with wide eyes as if he had seen a ghost.

"G-Gomen Rangiku-chan! I was just thinking something, you just surprised me!" he spoke frantically with a grin that the blonde lieutenant could tell immediately that it was a fake one. When he would smile or grin at her, it made her happy, it made her heart flutter. Just seeing him grin foxily at her, smile at her in the morning made her day.

Meanwhile, Naruto was freaking out on the inside.

_'When she touched me, it felt like...what is happening to me? Why can't I be myself in front of her? A couple of minutes ago, we were teasing each other. But look at me now, I'm a nervous wreck!'_

"No, I'm sorry for surprising you. Seeing you space out like that Naru-kun, I thought you were troubled about something. If it's about earlier Naru-kun, t-"

"Rangiku-chan, I...I'm sorry for the way I'm acting, but I just need some space. I don't know what's going on, I just need some time," Naruto said while looking at his feet whereas Matsumoto nodded with a sad expression before cheering herself up forcibly.

"I understand!" she spoke abruptly making Naruto raise his head in surprise, his heart twisting painfully at seeing the fake smile; the sadness in her eyes. Clenching his fists, the blonde walked upto her before hugging her with affection.

"Don't be sad Rangiku-chan, I don't like to see you sad," he uttered, his eyes closed while her eyes widened, her cheeks getting flushed as she could feel butterflies churning in her stomach. Wrapping her arms around his smaller frame, she tenderly ran her hands through his blonde locks with a smile- no words coming out of her mouth right then.

She closed her eyes in content, knowing that he was trying to cheer her up despite the tension between the two.

_'Geez, he really can read me like an open book. It feels so right hugging him, wether he be a shinobi or a shinigami,'_ she thought when he leaned back slowly before smiling at her nervously.

"I-I'll get ready for the exams. I'm sure you would have to report to duty too by now," Naruto verbalised, his face flushed as he frantically walked around her to enter his bedroom while she sighed with a chuckle.

_'He really is cute. But I hope he gets alright soon. Even the most simple of contact is making him blush. Geez, it's like in the beginning, I'll have to make him comfortable with me again and find out what's troubling him in the first place. I guess in case of liking someone, he IS twelve years old,'_ she thought with a chuckle.

_'That Sakura girl was an idiot to ignore him like that over that Sasuke kid, she has missed a true gem.'_

**Timeskip: Several Hours Later: Konoha's Ninja Academy**

"Alright class, it's time for your graduation exams. I wish everyone of you best of luck!" Iruka spoke loudly with a smile while most of the students nodded with a nervous smile whereas the clan heirs along with several others were sitting comfortably without any signs of nervousness. As Iruka left the room, the class erupted in murmurs as the students began to talk with each other.

"Hey, do you think you'll pass? "

"Oh man! Did you saw those painted Hokage faces yesterday? It was hilarious!"

"Yeah, my dad told me it was that loser Naruto along with some crazy jounin...what do they call her? It's Anti...Wakizashi or something?"

BONK!

"OW!"

"You idiot! It's Anko MITARASHI, not wakizashi!"

"Hey, isn't Matsumoto-sama amazing? I mean, do you see the way she fights, the way she moves, she always keeps smiling. I'm gonna be a kenjutsu specialist like her and Uzuki Yugao someday!"

"Yeah, she's become popular at crazy rates considering she just joined Konoha a month ago. Hmm...must be because of her rack."

WHAM!

"PERVERT!"

"Hey c'mon Mikuru-chan! He was just joking. Besides, everyone knows she's got one hell of a figure. I mean, she has become a role model for the younger generation now."

"Hmph! I know, but that doesn't mean you have to say it out loud!"

"Are you jealous Mikuru? Perhaps your A-cups are doing this to you?"

BAM!

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

"Tcch, you just don't learn, do you Tenjou?"

"Man I still can't believe she's living with that deadlast. That lucky bastard!"

"Oh give it a break! Didn't you hear the rumors that since both of them are blondes, have blue eyes...she's his long lost sister that was recently found by Konoha!"

"AHAHAHA! That poor Naruto, one hot woman enters his life and she too becomes his sister! I pity the guy!"

"I think those hollow hunters are awesome! I mean, even the jounins are not able to see them! It must be amazing to be invisible from everyone else. I wonder what secret ninja art they may be using?"

"Yeah, rumours are that even the greatest chakra sensors cannot sense or locate their chakra signatures! Those mercenaries sure are something!"

And the students continued to chat with each other while Iruka and Mizuki seemed to be a bit busy. However, among these normal students, there were some 'stand out' ones too.

A pineapple haired one seem to be sleeping, sitting besides whom was a chubby one eating potato chips frantically, a platinum blonde haired girl bickering with a pink haired one with a large forehead over a brooding raven haired boy. Then there was a boy with feral looks petting his puppy, a mysterious shady looking guy wearing shades and a shy girl having lavender eyes.

However, the class immediately went silent when the door opened to reveal a whiskered blonde- Naruto, who currently was panting a bit while he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Oh look! Let us lay out the red carpet for our deadlast!"

Someone said from the last bench as the class erupted into laughter with some exceptions while the blonde just seemed to be deep in thought as he continued to walk towards his seat at the last bench.

_'I wonder if I should just act around Rangiku-chan like nothing happened?'_

Seeing the lack of response, one student- who was petting a puppy earlier shouted just to irk Naruto.

"HEY NARUTO! HOW'S YOUR ONEE-CHAN?" again the class erupted into joyous laughter while the whiskered blonde just continued to walk up towards his seat like he didn't hear anything. When everyone quieted down, Naruto suddenly stopped before turning to the 'puppy' student with an innocent expression.

"Oh Kiba, ohayou. By the way, I don't know about my onee-chan considering I was with your sister last night when she entered heaven with her feet first," he spoke loudly while tapping his shinobi sandals to signify the 'feet first'. Everyone however looked at him in confusion along with Kiba while a certain raven haired boy and a pineapple haired one seemed to be smirking.

"What are you talking about you idiot? What do you mean she entered heaven with her feet first?"

"Oh it's nothing. It was just that I made her scream this several times- 'OH NARUTO-KUN! AH KAMI! I'M CUMMING!' with her feet pointing towards the sky," the blonde's finger now pointing upwards as he had an innocent expression on his face, having mimicked his 'sister's scream'.

...

...

...

And then the dam broke as the class practically roared in laughter at Kiba's expense, who currently had his face red in embarrassment as well as anger.

"HAHAHHAHAHA!OH MAN HAHAHA! THIS IS GOOD!"

"BWAHAHA! WHO KNEW NARUTO HAD IT IN HIM!"

"Well he certainly is unpredictable."

All the girls however had their faces scarlet red in embarrassment, but they too seemed to be snickering to themselves quietly.

"YOU BASTARD!" Kiba roared in blind rage as he climbed his desk while Naruto was currently sitting on his seat while gazing outside with a thoughtful expression.

_'Hm...maybe I should ask Ayame-chan about this,'_ he pondered when the door suddenly opened to show the annoyed face of Iruka.

"SHUT UP EVERYONE! AND KIBA! RETURN TO YOUR SEAT AT ONCE!" he hollered as the class instantly quieted down while Kiba, still glaring at Naruto returned to his seat whereas the students were still snickering to themselves.

"Okay! Now the preparations are done, let's start the test! I'll call you guys one by one!"

**Several Minutes Later**

"Uzumaki Naruto!" hearing his name, Naruto snapped out of his thoughts as he started to walk towards the exit.

_'Seems most of them have passed.'_

Seeing the smug smirk on Kiba's face directed at him considering the hitai-ate on his forehead- Naruto spoke with the most innocent and thoughtful expression he could form.

"Oh Kiba, tell your sister that I wouldn't be able to come tonight. You know, gotta celebrate with my onee-chan for becoming a ninja!" offering the Inuzuka a warm smile, he exited quickly before sliding the door shut.

The whiskered blonde smirked to himself in the corridors when he heard the class again erupt into bombardous laughter along with some whistles of appreciation.

"I'LL KILL YOU NARUTO!" ignoring Kiba's shout, he entered the examination room with a serious expression.

_'Okay! This is it.'_

"Alright Naruto, you know the drill. You have to form atleast three perfect clones of yourself. Good luck," Iruka spoke with a warm smile while Mizuki, who was smiling at the outside was inwardly planning for tonight.

_'I really hope you pass Naruto. I know you've done your hardwork, show me what you've got!'_ Iruka thought as Naruto walked to the center before crouching down a bit.

Iruka's and Mizuki's eyes immediately widened when they felt some kind of pressure suddenly washing over them while a purple glow, invisible to both the chunins now covered Naruto's form.

_'Alright, let's get over with this sucker!'_

**The plot has moved on...a bit, with Naruto and Rangiku having trouble with their feelings. I'll give in more detail for Anko in the upcoming chapters, though the next one should be interesting for you guys:)**

**So please REVIEW (even if it is to tell me how slow and boring this story is) and keep reading (if you want to that is). So take care everybody and see you next time! :D**

**N6023**


	10. Kage Bunshin Failed!

**Hey guys! What's up? Well as for me, I'm running from a high fever on this very fine day, thank you for asking though.**

**And thanks for all the reviews and PM's, I really appre-**_**'Achoo!'**_**...ahm, sneeze of appreciation from yours truly (yeah, I'm sick -.-) Now without wasting further of your (those who do read A/N's lol) time, let's get on with the chapter-**

**Chapter-10-Kage Bunshin Failed?**

"Alright Naruto, you know the drill. You have to form atleast three perfect clones of yourself. Good luck," Iruka spoke with a warm smile while Mizuki, who was smiling on the outside was inwardly planning for tonight.

_'I really hope you pass Naruto. I know you've done your hardwork, show me what you've got!'_ Iruka thought as Naruto walked to the center before crouching down a bit.

Iruka's and Mizuki's eyes immediately widened when they felt some kind of pressure suddenly washing over them while a purple glow, invisible to both the chunins now covered Naruto's form.

_'Alright, let's get over with this sucker!'_ he thought with determination overflowing through his system as he formed the special hand seal for the shadow clone making both the chunin's eyes widen in shock.

_'Is that...'_

_'There's no way that demon could...'_

Both of them thought with an expression of disbelief on their faces while Naruto had a serious expression on his face.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** (Shadow Clone Technique)," he spoke in a normal tone when his eyes suddenly widened.

_'W-What's this feeling...so sinister...'_ were his last thoughts before the blonde executed the technique resulting in around twenty puffs of smoke.

Meanwhile Iruka and Mizuki had a stunned expression on their faces, not because that Naruto was attempting a forbidden technique, but due to something evil they had felt; a tiny amount of...

_'The kyuubi's chakra!'_ Iruka thought in horror as he gazed at perplexed expression on Naruto's face while Mizuki gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists in anxiety.

_'I was right! This boy really is a demon...I can never forget that feeling, that hatred, the evil...,'_ he thought with anger bubbling inside him.

"W-What the..." he was snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing Naruto's surprised voice to notice around twenty deformed corpses laying in front of him.

"N-Naruto..." Iruka stuttered in disbelief as he gazed at the wide eyed blonde who was staring at his clones.

_'What's happening? This technique is a child's play for me, then why all of a sudden? My chakra was perfectly stable this time, but...what was that sudden feeling, like there was some external source of something else meddling with my chakra control,'_ Naruto thought with gritted teeth in annoyance as he dispelled all the clones this time.

"Naruto, I don't know where you even came to know about the shadow clone technique, but you should know that it's a forbidden technique and a genin can't possibly use it. I'm amazed that you're even standing right now," Iruka explained, coming out of his initial daze while Mizuki nodded with him.

"NO!" Iruka's eyes widened when the blonde screamed with primal ferocity in his oceanic blue eyes, now having black slits in his pupils making both of the chunins feel a bit...scared? They couldn't help but feel fear while looking in those eyes.

"I can't fail! Not when I've trained so hard!" he exclaimed in frustration, and was that a hint of desperation in his voice? Slamming both of his hands into a ram seal, he again started to build up chakra while Iruka just sat there wide eyed with Mizuki scowling at the blonde.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" he exclaimed loudly this time when a thin red line of chakra appeared along the faint blue shroud of his chakra.

_'There it is again!'_ Iruka mentally noticed along with Mizuki as plums of smoke now almost filled the room.

_'C'mon c'mon! Why is this happening to me now? I've been doing this jutsu for a week now! What is this feeling inside of me?'_ Naruto thought frantically as he prayed to whoever diety was watching over him to pass him.

"Please..." he muttered in desperation as the room was now silent while the excessive smoke slowly lifted to reveal...

"I already told you Naruto, it's no use," Iruka spoke with a sigh as those same corpses littered the wooden floor around a stunned Naruto, who currently was looking at the dead clones with widened eyes- as if unable to come to terms with the reality.

_'No...it can't be. Why me? What's happening to me? I can't let it end this way, Ayame-chan, Oji-san, jiji, Rangiku-chan, Shiroi-chan...Anko-chan, all of them have worked so hard to train me. I don't care if something is messing with my chakra, I have to pass!'_ he thought when Iruka began to speak.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I can't pass you like that. It was good thinking from your side to try something different as you're not able to do the clone technique. It is clear that you have extremely high chakra reserves as compared to any other genin or academy student, but you still need to practise to perfect the shadow clone technique. It's not that simple y-"

"No sensei! I can do this technique! I don't know what's happening to me, but I CAN do this technique," Naruto spoke in a pleading voice, as if trying to ignore what had happened making the chunin sigh at his stubborness.

"Hey Iruka, why don't we postpone his exams a bit, give him some time to master the shadow clone technique?" Mizuka asked with fake concern in his voice for his 'student' while the blonde just narrowed his eyes.

"I'm afraid that's not possible Mizuki, I can't pass him. He also can't do the clone technique, even if I do want to...I can't pass him," Iruka spoke with a serious expression as he gazed at Naruto with sadness in his eyes.

_'I have to talk to Hokage-sama. I think the seal is getting weak and the influx of a little bit of Kyuubi's chakra in his coils is interfering with his chakra control. I can't possibly pass him right now. At this stage, if he becomes a ninja...he would be a danger to his comrades as well as to himself. The seal needs to be checked immediately, I have to contact sandaime-sama!'_ he contemplated while Naruto was gritting his teeth as he clenched his fists tightly.

"I'm sorry Naruto, you fail," Iruka spoke in a dejected tone as the blonde continued to stand there while inwardly Mizuki was smirking at the frustrated expression on Naruto's face.

Not wanting to accept it...no, not being able to accept it, the whiskered blonde again started to build up chakra.

"I can't fail! I've trained so hard! I could easily do this jutsu before, and I will do it now!" he spoke loudly while Iruka, who was greatly saddened by his most favourite student failing; couldn't help but grow a little irritated at his stubborn proclaimation. It was clear that kyuubi's chakra was interfering with his chakra and that the blonde wouldn't be able to pass. It also did not help that he couldn't explain to the boy about what was happening to him; it angered the chunin that the boy had to suffer so much. Naruto had been so desperately trying to pass all these years, it annoyed Iruka to no end that the blonde had to endure such burden with no support whatsoever.

The pineapple haired chunin was snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing the puffs of smoke to again notice those same clone corpses while Mizuki too patiently sat there with a calm expression.

"Damn it!" Naruto exclaimed with an angered expression as he stared at his clones while Iruka sighed again.

"Naruto that's enough, you can leave now," he spoke quietly with a somber expression when the whiskered blonde cursed.

"No, again!" clearly Naruto was getting more desperate as now beads of sweat formed on his face as he began to raise his chakra levels again.

"I can still do it! I know I can, Iruka-sensei just y-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH NARUTO! YOU FAIL!"

Iruka screamed in frustration as Naruto gazed at him with wide eyes while Mizuki's lips curled upwards just a little bit.

"You can try again next year Naruto, now go to the class and wait for me. I have to call others for their exam too," Iruka said in a tired voice as the blonde lowered his head, his eyes now shadowed.

Not uttering another word, he started to walk towards the door. Exiting the examination room, he walked through the corridors to reach his classroom; which was actually the nieghbouring room.

Just as he was about to slide off the door, the blonde suddenly stopped.

"Hey did you hear Iruka-sensei yell just now?"

"Yeah, seems the deadlast failed again."

"HA! I won the bet, I think you owe me some money man."

"Damn that idiot! How could I have thought that he would pass this time, it cost me my monthly pocket money!"

"It's your fault in the first case, who told you to bet on that jerk?"

Not able to take it anymore, Naruto gritted his teeth as he kept his head lowered.

_'Fuck it!'_

And then he dashed away from there, exiting the academy while the other students continued to celebrate for passing the exam.

**One Hour Later:**

"Hey Ayame-chan, where's Naru-kun? I thought he would be the first one to crash through that door with a big grin on his face," Rangiku said in a bit of concern as they stood in a corner, waiting for the blonde to give them the good news while other children were celebrating there with their parents and relatives.

"I don't know Rangiku-chan. What do you think Anko?" Ayame asked in a concerned voice, turning to the kunoichi who had her back against the wall while she ate dango. They had been waiting for him for the past fifteen minutes and still couldn't find their favourite blonde.

"Meh, the gaki must have ran off to somewhere else to celebrate by himself," Anko shrugged as she discarded the dango stick but Ayame could detect the small amount of worry in her voice.

"That's mean Anko-chan! How could you say that? I know Naru-kun would never celebrate without us!" Matsumoto exclaimed with a pout making the snake mistress roll her eyes.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just why is that gaki taking so long? I have a plan as a way of saying congratulations!" she spoke with a sadistic glee making Ayame blink in confusion.

"Oooh! You gotta tell me what you're planning Anko-chan, it has to something great!" the blonde lieutenant chirped when Anko grinned. Pushing herself off the wall, she slung her arm over the busty tokubetsu jounin's shoulder before whispering something into her ear. A sly grin crept upon Rangiku's face upon hearing Anko's 'plan'.

"Oh hehe...this is gotta be fun Anko-chan. You're a genius!" she exclaimed with a bright smile making the purple haired kunoichi grin back at her while Ayame just sweatdropped at their antics as they again began to whisper something in the corner, a light shade of pink on their cheeks.

_'Sometimes I really suspect if they were long lost sisters,'_ she thought when suddenly her gaze fell on the incoming form of Iruka and Hiruzen in his Hokage robes.

"Iruka-san, where is Naruto-kun?" she immediately asked in confusion. The only response she got was Iruka averting his gaze while Hiruzen had a grim expression on his face.

"He failed Ayame-san," Iruka spoke with sadness making her eyes widen in surprise while Rangiku and Anko, who too had heard what he said were blinking owlishly.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Ayame spoke with a smile while Hiruzen and Iruka remained serious. Anko and Matsumoto were equally stunned too.

"How the hell could he fail? Last time I checked, which I remind you was yesterday Hokage-sama, he was at the skill level of a low chunin roughly," Anko spoke seriously, their auras having immediately taking a complete one-eighty turn.

"L-Low chunin?" Iruka stuttered with a baffled look on his face. What was she saying? If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, he really would've thought that it was one of her crazy pranks.

"Iruka, you can go now. I will explain to them," Sarutobi spoke with a sigh making him nod. Bowing to them, and glancing towards the trio somewhat apologetically, he shunshined out.

"What's happening Hiruzen-san?" Rangiku asked with a dead serious expression on her face, somehow taking the rest of the four by a bit of surprise. They knew how much she had come to care for Naruto over the past month, it's like both of them had formed a special bond. Most of the day they could be seen goofing around together in the village, and Ayame was ashamed to admit...but she was getting jealous. The way Rangiku had wormed into his heart, gaining a special place so quickly, it angered her. But she hated this feeling, this feeling of jealousy; it was eating her from the inside!

_'Stop, I can't be thinking like that. They are just friends, besides Rangiku-chan is way older than Naruto-kun, there's no way she would be interested in him,'_ Ayame thought with a light scowl as he put her palm on her heart lightly, a sigh escaping her lips while Anko did not fail to notice her uneasiness.

"First let's go to Teuchi-san's home, we can discuss the matter there safely. Also Ayame-chan, is Teuchi-san home right now?" Hiruzen asked with a serious expression while the other graduates along with their families were starting to leave the premises.

"I'm afraid not, just today morning he left to meet _him_," Ayame spoke making the blonde and the purple haired kunoichi look at her in confusion while the Hokage nodded.

"But where is the gaki right now?" Anko interrupted with a frown making Matsumoto and Ayame blink. Yeah, where was Naruto right now?

"I think he needs to be left alone for a while. It must have hit him hard to fail like that, he really did work hard. But that's beside the point, you three don't worry; I myself know how strong he is so as the Hokage I will pass him tomorrow. But there's one little bit of information that Iruka told me, it could pose a serious danger to Naruto," he stated, confusing them; but nevertheless the trio was now dead serious.

"Do not worry, I can feel his reiryoku in Konoha, he's safe right now," Rangiku said while Ayame too checked by closing her eyes, nodding with Rangiku. Anko however was thinking on what Hiruzen had said just now.

"Is it because of..." the purple haired kunoichi trailed with widened eyes, pointing a finger towards her stomach making the sandaime nod. This elicited concerned faces from both Ayame and Rangiku.

"Is the seal breaking or something?" the blonde asked in worry when the old Hokage shook his head.

"No, nothing has happened to him...yet. But let's first get out of here," he uttered making them nod with a sigh as they left the area, either via shunpo or shunshin.

**Konoha: Unknown Training Ground**

"Shit! What happened back there? Why does this happen to me?" Naruto cursed as he punched a training post in frustration, his eyes closed as he was currently gritting his teeth. Opening his eyes slowly, the blonde stared at his hands with narrowed eyes.

Forming the hand seal again, he exclaimed loudly.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" his eyes widened this time as several puffs of smoke appeared around him.

"W-What's happening?" he asked in disbelief as now ten perfectly formed clones were standing around him, all of them staring at him in confusion.

_'Why didn't they form before? Was someone interfering with my chakra, this time however I didn't feel that sinister...thing inside of me,'_ he thought in confusion when his lips began to curl upwards.

"If I show this to Iruka-sensei right now, of course he would pass me! I will ask Teuchi-oji about this strange thing later on," Naruto murmured to himself with a smile, inwardly sighing with relief.

"Wow! So you really can do the shadow clone technique, that's really impressive Naruto," snapping his head back, the blonde's eyes widened in surprise.

_'How could I have not sensed his presence? I shouldn't be so careless,' _he mentally chided himself with narrowed himself as the silver haired chunin approached him with a smile while the blonde dispelled his clones.

Naruto didn't know, but for some reason he never liked Mizuki. Even though the chunin didnot seem to hate him, but the blonde never liked the aura he emitted; call it his sixth sense or whatever.

"Mizuki-sensei?" he asked in surprise.

"Why didn't you do it right during the exam Naruto?" Mizuki asked with a fake smile making the blonde sigh.

"I don't know. But it looked like something was interfering with my chakra, but now I can do it. I was planning on showing this to Iruka-sensei right now, but since you're here now; I pass right?" the whiskered blonde asked giddily, excited at the prospect of finally passing.

"I'm afraid not," the silver haired chunin spoke with a sigh, faking a sad expression as he shook his head.

"Why not?" he asked with some anger inadvertantly seeping into his tone.

"You see Naruto, you couldn't do it when you were required to do the technique. Imagine if you're on a high ranking mission, even the slightest slip up like today earlier would easily cost you your life. We can't pass you if there's a risk of you getting killed, now can we?" Mizuki replied before continuing seeing as the blonde was about to object.

"But, there is a way you know," he verbalized with a smirk making Naruto look at him in confusion while inwardly he was getting suspicious of the chunin.

**Several Hours Later: Forests behind the Hokage's Monument**

It had been two hours since Naruto had taken the forbidden scroll from the Hokage's tower. It was pretty easy as he had just slipped in with his shinigami form.

_'It was pretty odd of jiji to not be in his office, it's not that late actually,'_ Naruto thought as he laid on the ground panting, the scroll laying besides him. Sitting up a bit wearily, he gazed at the three techniques on the scroll he had been practising/learning for the past two hours.

_'It's a shame I still can't do the Shadow Possession Technique, the sucker requires some serious chakra control...atleast for me,'_ he thought as a cold breeze swept through the area while he wiped the sweat off his brow.

Standing up, Naruto slung the scroll on his back as he turned around with a serious expression.

_'Here comes Iruka-sensei,'_ he thought, having sensed the chunin's reiryoku when the said person suddenly landed in front of him.

"Naruto! What do you think you're doing with the forbidden scroll?" Iruka asked loudly with a deep scowl on his face when the blonde spoke seriously.

"Tell me Iruka-sensei. Would you have passed me if after failing today's test, I would have come to you a few hours later and successfully executed the shadow clone technique?" the chunin could only adopt a confused expression at that.

"This is no time for jokes Naruto! You've co-"

"JUST tell me sensei," the blonde interfered with a calm tone making the pineapple haired shinobi sigh.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. I would have to consult Hokage-sama first," he answered with a sad expression knowing that what he said had a double meaning.

_'Not because of the rules concerning passing a candidate Naruto, but because of the Kyuubi. It's clear that the fox is meddling with your chakra flow,'_ he thought afterwards with a melancholic expression on his face, not liking that they were hiding such a big fact from the blonde; but it was probably for his own welfare.

"Heh, I see. So you felt that evil chakra before too huh? Then I presume it is the part of the reason why the villagers hate me so much, ne sensei?" the twelve year old blonde said with a smile making Iruka's eyes widen considerably in shock before he composed himself.

"N-Naruto, wha-what are you talking about? I never sa-"

"So you're still gonna lie to me Iruka-sensei?" Naruto intervened with a somewhat pained smile taking the chunin by surprise. Lowering his gaze, Iruka sighed to himself sadly...

"I...I'm sorry Naruto. But I can't tell you the reason people hate you," a sigh escaped the blonde's lips before he formed a single shadow clone making Iruka's eyes bulge in surprise.

"But that feeling, clearly it is disturbing my chakra circulatory system. Then I think the reason you are still reluctant to pass me is because I may get killed during a mission if it happens again, or that I may pose a danger to others due to that chakra, right?" Iruka could only nod dumbly making him chuckle before it turned into a full blown grin.

"Don't you worry, I wouldn't get killed so easily! I'll prove it you sensei!" he exclaimed making the academy instructor smile at the blonde's exuberance.

_'Seeing Iruka-sensei agree further proves my theory right. Since he agreed that the evil feeling was chakra indeed, then that means there has to be a living source in me whose chakra leaked into my coils earlier today. And if it 'leaked' today of all other days since I was born, then that means the living chakra source was sealed inside me. And considering the brief expressions of fear that crossed both Iruka-sensei and Mizuki when I myself felt that chakra only cements my suspicion. Now the only thing left to find: who or what is the chakra source sealed inside me?' _Naruto contemplated on the inside as he continued to grin when both of them heard a familiar voice.

"I see, just like all those times in the past, Iruka has a knack of winning the 'Find the demon brat' contest," Mizuki spoke with a chuckle.

"Mizuki?" Iruka questioned with a confused expression on his face while Naruto continued to stand there calmly. Ignoring Iruka, the silver haired chunin spoke.

"Alright Naruto, you've passed the test, now give the scroll to me so I can return it to Hokage-sama!" Mizuki uttered loudly making the blonde's oceanic blue eyes narrow as he balled his fists.

"Test? Mizuki, what are you talking about? Naruto, what is going on here?" Iruka asked with growing confusion as his patience grew thin while the blonde just stood there.

"What are you waiting for Naruto? Give the scroll to me!" Mizuki yelled while Iruka found himself lost, but he didn't like the vibe coming off his fellow chunin. The pineapple haired instructor though turned his head when he heard Naruto besides him chuckle.

"Yo Mizuki-sensei! Since I pass my test for graduating, let's see if you pass your test for the forbidden scroll!," the blonde yelled back as his voice echoed throughout the forest while Mizuki gritted his teeth in anger whereas Iruka just looked on in confusion before he spoke.

"Naruto, give me the scroll," a serious expression now on his face while the whiskered blonde just turned his head slowly to smile at his sensei.

"**Bakudo no Ichi: Sai! **(Way of Binding: Restrain)"

"Agh!" Iruka exclaimed in surprise as he suddenly found himself on his knees with both of his wrists tied behind his back by some invisible force. Struggling to get free, he turned his head back to see the previously made clone of Naruto, his index and middle fingers were currently pointed at him before it puffed out.

"No use struggling sensei, you can't get out of this," the blonde spoke in a serious tone. Iruka's eyes were currently widened as snapped his head back to stare at Naruto in shock.

"Naruto, what is this? Why are you doing this?" he yelled as the chunin found himself unable to move while Mizuki, who currently was perched on a branch; to say the least- was shell-shocked.

_'What was that jutsu just now? I've never seen or heard such a thing, he didn't even do any handseals! Does the demon have a special bloodline?'_ were the thoughts currently rampaging his mind when Naruto turned to face him, a cold look in his frosty electric blue eyes while his face was sporting a calm expression.

Shaking himself out of his initial shock, the silver haired chunin spoke loudly, "Give the scroll to me Naruto! You pass the test, there's no need to show any more techniques, we know how strong you are!"

"I may keep grinning like a goofball, I may act like a clown, I may have failed the graduation exams three times in a row, I may be the dead last….but I'm NOT an idiot Mizuki!" the blonde growled with such ferocity in his voice that both Iruka and Mizuki found themselves thinking if he really was a twelve year old boy. His cold calculating eyes, indicated maturity far beyond his age; it's the look you normally see in a veteran experienced shinobi, not a boy like Naruto they used to know.

"Wh-What are you talking about? Just give me the damn scroll you idiot!" Mizuki shouted as he found himself somewhat intimidated by the aura the blonde was currently emitting. This was ridiculous; he was only a twelve year old brat to say the least!

"Oh I will give the scroll to you alright. I even know that you had planned for me to steal it. Then placing all the blame on me, you would flee from the village with the scroll right?" Naruto spoke calmly making Iruka's eyes widen in shock while Mizuki too found himself unnerved by this.

'_I knew something was wrong here! So it was Mizuki all along, he must have manipulated Naruto somehow,'_ the pineapple haired chunin thought before his eyes suddenly widened in shock again.

"Naruto! What do you mean you'll give him the scroll?" he asked, a small amount of fear dripping from his voice while Mizuki too found himself confused.

Ignoring Iruka's shout, the whiskered blonde unslung the large scroll from his back before setting it down on the ground with a 'thud'.

"Here's a sweet deal for you Mizuki-sensei! I'm tired of all the villagers treating me like crap and the fact that no one is gonna help me become a ninja here has led me to a decision- I'm gonna leave Konoha!" a creepy silence followed his declaration as both Mizuki and Iruka stared at him wide eyed. Leave the village?

"NARUTO! What are you saying? You can't leave the village! What about your dream of becoming the Hokage?" Iruka yelled as he struggled to break free of the binding while the blonde just stood there facing Mizuki with a serious expression.

"Now about the deal or the test to say of sorts- you tell me the reason why the villagers hate me so much and I'll give you the forbidden scroll, as simple as that."

"NO NARUTO! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Iruka's yell however fell on deaf ears as Naruto continued to stare at a stunned Mizuki. The silver haired chunin had never thought that things could turn out this way, but it did make sense. It was only a matter of time before the blonde would've snapped under the shitty treatment he had been receiving since he was born.

A dark smirk slowly formed on Mizuki's face as he began to chuckle softly.

'_I can't believe my luck! Oh well….I myself was about to tell this demon the truth, he seems more eager than me,'_ he thought before standing up on the branch.

"Alright Naruto, I'll tell you," he spoke with a smirk while Iruka's eyes widen in horror.

"MIZUKI! DON'T YOU DARE!" he knew however that there was no stopping it now.

"Twelve years ago, when the nine tailed fox attacked Konoha, the yondaime Hokage couldn't kill it. SO he did the next best thing by sealing that monster inside of a baby," he paused while Naruto stood there in shock as Mizuki's words registered into his mind, immediately connecting all the dots.

"S-So…the K-Kyuubi's sealed into me?" the blonde asked uncertainly as his pupils began to tremble while Mizuki sneered.

"YES! That monster was sealed inside YOU! You're the demon that attacked our village twelve years ago! You're the abomination that everyone hates so much and de-" Mizuki however paused abruptly when he noticed a smirk form on the blonde's face.

"What's so funny brat!" he yelled while Iruka too stared at Naruto flabbergasted.

"Nothing, it's just that I never asked your view of me, I only asked the reason people hate me so much-not for you to lecture me on 'demons and monsters', you always were a crappy teacher anyway."

The hell was wrong with this kid?

"N-Naruto….," Iruka trailed in surprise as he stared at his student with wide eyes while Mizuki too didn't know what was going on here? Wasn't he supposed to go an emotional roller-coaster after hearing such a big secret about himself? And here he was cracking jokes at him?

Naruto however tightened his grip on the scroll as he closed his eyes momentarily, a sigh escaping his lips. He remembered what Teuchi had said to him when he had asked about why everyone hated him so much during the previous month.

"_Right now, I don't want anything to get in your way of training Naruto. It's better that you just concentrate on the task ahead. But I know that the secret can't be kept from you always, I know in the coming future you'll get to know this secret. And when you do, remember….always remember that you have people that care for you. No matter what everyone else calls you, just believe in yourself. Don't let yourself get down by what those idiots say. Just keep in mind that you're the true guardian of this village…of Konoha, that's what becoming a Hokage is all about. All of us are with you…me, you jiji, Ayame-chan, Rangiku-san and…."_

'_Shiroi-chan,'_ he thought as his facial features relaxed while Mizuki and Iruka stood there, waiting for his reaction. Was he about to burst as expected?

"Naruto-kun…." his eyes widened in shock when he heard that familiar voice, freezing him on the spot. His whole world seemed to slow down around him right then.

"Sh-Shiroi…chan," he muttered with wide eyes, were his ears ringing? Was that really her voice just now. His eyebrows lifted up in immense surprise upon feeling two warm slender arms wrap around his neck gently.

"Remember, Shiroi-chan loves Naruto-kun….and always will. You are who you are….not a demon," that melodic voice, it was her! Turning his head just a bit, his oceanic blue eyes widened considerable upon seeing the glowing face of her, it was like seeing an angel from some kind of a fairy tale.

"Shiroi-chan," he didn't know what else to say, he never thought he would see her again. And here she was, smiling cutely at him.

"I will always be watching over you Naruto-kun, stay strong," she spoke softly, kissing him on the cheek before her mirage slowly disappeared while he just stood there in mind boggling shock.

"N-Naruto…." the blonde physically jerked a bit upon hearing Iruka's concerned voice as he blinked for several times. Lifting his hand, he slowly put it on his heart as a smile crept onto his face.

'_Yeah, you're with me Shiroi-chan. I know you'll we watching me from up there,'_ he thought as a lone tear slipped down his cheek. Seeing the liquid on his cheek, Iruka began to panic as he started to expect the worst.

"Listen Naruto! What Mizuki said is not true! You're not-"

"Iruka-sensei…" the whiskered blonde titled his head towards the chunin with a warm smile.

"I know…thanks," he uttered in a low tone as Iruka gaped at him like a fish while Mizuki was getting frustrated now.

He was expecting some screams, cries of pain about how the world was unfair to the demon, running away with tears in his eyes…and so many other emotionally self-destructive possibilities; but he was definitely not expecting the blonde to just smile over it and say…"I know, thanks?", was this kid retarted or what? Didn't he know how to behave in such situations? He was supposed to break down like a raped damsel in distress with the protagonist having no chance in hell to save her violated ass dammit! (Damsel in Distress= Naruto, Protagonist= Iruka, Rapist=Mizuki teme!)

"Naruto, I've answered your question, give me the scroll now! Don't force me into using force!" the rapist…_'cough'_, the silver haired chunin yelled while the blonde sweat dropped at the double 'force' statement before a challenging smirk formed on his face.

"Well then, try it teme! If you can trick me-not that you succeeded in doing so…I just wanted to catch you red handed and know 'bout my little secret- then why can't I trick you?" Mizuki however gritted his teeth while Iruka struggled to get free.

"Naruto untie me! There's no way you can take on a chunin!" he frantically said while Mizuki took out a windmill shuriken with a sneer on his face.

"Alright, I've been wanting to do this to you anyway! Prepare to die you demon!" he yelled before hurling the heavy projectile weapon at great speeds towards Naruto.

"NARUTO GET DOWN!" Iruka yelled in desperation, his eyes closed while Naruto…showing amazing reflexes and speed for an academy student or a genin, dodged it with a single side-step making Mizuki's eyes widen.

"H-How?" he stuttered in surprise. No genin should've been able to dodge such attack, no genin should even possess such reflexes and speed as well dodging with such precision.

'_I've been straining my ass for a whole month now, this was quite easy. Is this the best a chunin can do?'_ the blonde thought with a serious expression when suddenly his senses went haywire while his eyes widened.

'_This reiatsu…..'_ he thought as a light pressure, not enough to be sensed by the two chunins though, washed over the area.

Lifting his head, he gazed towards the sky with wide eyes as the pressure slowly continued to increase, with the number of reiatsu sources increasing too.

'_It's in that direction!'_ he mentally exclaimed before turning his head back only to curse inwardly as the trees were blocking his view.

"You shouldn't space out like that demon," his eyes widened upon hearing Mizuki's voice up close just behind him.

WHAM!

"ARGH!" he exclaimed in pain before coughing out some blood as the chunin had slammed a kick onto his lower back making him fly forwards at blazing speeds before crashing into a tree violently.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled making Mizuki smirk as he picked up the scroll which had fell off Naruto's grip while Iruka frantically struggled to get free of these damn invisible bindings!

"So sad Iruka, your student is out cold with several bones broken probably. Now I think it's your turn," approaching the struggling figure of someone who used to be his best friend, Mizuki pulled out a kunai as he began to twirl it around his fingers.

Both of their eyes however suddenly widened upon abruptly feeling some sort of pressure fall upon them. It's as if the gravity had suddenly increased and was still increasing!

'_This feeling….it's the same from before, only much larger this time!'_ both of them thought, but somehow they knew that Naruto wasn't the one causing it this time.

"W-What's going on?" Mizuki questioned with a look of confusion and panic on his face, but nevertheless the pressure was not enough to weigh them down considering they were chunins and not some random civilian. Iruka too however was thinking along the same lines.

"Is it another hollow?" he spoke uncertainly. This was the feeling they usually got whenever they were attacked by a hollow, but it was never this strong. But now, it was as if….

"**TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!**" both of them snapped their heads back as now hundreds of puffs of smoke filled the forest.

'_No way….he couldn't make so many…'_ Iruka thought in shock as he gazed at all the smoke around them when it cleared for their eyes to bulge in astonishment.

"Alright teme! I have no time to play with you!"

"Yeah, let's finish this!"

"You're going down!"

Random threatning shouts filled the area as hundreds of shadow clones readied themselves, some standing around Mizuki while most of them were perched on the branches above. It truly was an intimidating sight to behold.

"H-How can you do this? You're a demon!" Mizuki stuttered as the heavy scroll fell out his hand while he stumbled back a bit. The real Naruto however was standing in front of the tree he had crashed into as he wiped the blood off his chin, a serious expression on his face.

Among the many shadow clones, one of them climbed the trees to get to the top quickly. Looking in the direction where the foreign reiatsu was constantly increasing, his eyes widened while his body froze in spine-breaking shock as he stared at the sight in the dark sky.

Up there, way above the center of Konoha, was a HUGE garganta through which countless hollows were coming….filling the dark void of the endless sky as their forms approached Konoha, it was like an army!

"W-What's the meaning of this? Th….This is absurd! So….how can there be so many hollows?" he questioned in shock as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, now understanding the constantly growing reiatsu.

The loud howls of anguish and pain, the chilling effects of their dark reiatsu now filled the poor clones system as he stood on the top of a tree, staring at a sight which almost everyone could describe as 'Armageddon'.

_'We're officially about to get fucked up!'_

_**'Phew'**_**! Finally done with this. As you can see, things are twisting with each chapter, and for a reason ofcourse. **

**Oh, about the shadow clone technique failing because of Kyuubi's chakra, that too happens for a reason...so don't yell at me that "You asshole! Just so that Naruto gets to fight Mizuki and show-off, you resorted to such a cliche and a cheap method after all the training he went through! **_***Middle finger!***_** "**

**So lol no, I did not aim for such a thing. And you might have found things in this chapter just a little bit rushed, it was mainly to get on with the plot. But I was pleased after reading the reviews that some you are actually enjoying the slow pace and character development...so I'll try to balance everything and to not make this boring. **

**Also, for those who don't know and are interested, check out my NarutoxDeath Note crossover- '****The Jinchuriki's Note****' :)**

**So as usual, please review and tell me what you guys think so far. (lol just copied this line from the previous chapters, I'm tired of typing this over and over again ;)**

**So take care people and stay awesome! (even if you think you aren't, you are!) :D**

**N6023**


	11. Raining Hollows!

**Chapter-11-Raining Hollows!**

"W-What's the meaning of this? Th….This is absurd! So….how can there be so many hollows?" the clone questioned in shock as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, now understanding the constantly growing reiatsu.

The loud howls of anguish and pain, the chilling effects of their dark reiatsu now filled the poor clone's system as he stood on top of a tree, staring at a sight which almost everyone could describe as 'Armageddon'.

_'We're officially about to get fucked up!'_ he thought in fear, knowing it was next to impossible to face so many hollows. He looked down though upon hearing Mizuki's screams of pain as the silver haired chunin was beaten to a pulp by all the shadow clones.

Glancing back at the sight for once last time with a nervous gulp, he dispelled himself.

Down there, currently we find the real Naruto walking towards the bloodied form of Mizuki when he suddenly stopped, his eyes wide in shock.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked in a bit of concern upon seeing his terror-struck face, fists trembling a bit in what seemed to be fear.

_'What the hell is going on? Teuchi-oji said before that hollows coming to this dimension was a rarity, and though their numbers have been constantly increasing over the past month- this is just too sudden. It doesn't makes sense at all!'_ he pondered before clenching his fists, contemplating on what to do. It did not help that those howls and screams were making him more nervous and anxious by the second.

_'Shit! What do I do? There's no sense in just barging there and taking on all of them. It would be suicide! Even with Ayame-chan and Rangiku-chan with me, we wouldn't be able to beat so many of them. Damn it! I just wish Teuchi-oji was here, he's much stronger than any of us!'_ he further mused with gritted teeth when he heard Iruka calling him.

"Naruto! Untie me!" he spoke loudly while the blonde stared at him for a few seconds, as if deep in thought.

His eyes however suddenly widened as he rushed to the forbidden scroll of sealing before opening it quickly.

_'If what I read earlier...'_

"Oi! What are you doing with the scroll? Naruto, are you even listening to me!" the chunin yelled in anger and frustration while the blonde just ignored him as he continued to read something on the scroll before closing it abruptly, a sign of hope on his face.

_'This might just work!'_ he thought with a serious expression before suddenly bolting to Iruka's side, surprising him somewhat.

"Listen sensei, take this forbidden scroll back to the Hokage's tower!" Naruto uttered frantically as he touched his arm, releasing the kido spell before shoving the large scroll in his arms.

"Hey! Where are yo..." the chunin trailed in shock as he stared at the retreating, but blurry form of the blonde.

_'Was he always this fast? Was Anko-san serious back then about him being at a level of about low-chunin?'_

**Present Time: Konoha: Just Outside Ichiraku's Ramen Stand**

"What's the meaning of this? How come there are so many?" Anko spoke with gritted teeth as she stood there with Hiruzen, Ayame and Rangiku. They were talking in the apartment a few minutes ago when the foul reiatsu of all these hollows had alerted them.

Infact, it seemed that everyonein Konoha had sensed it considering the spiritual pressure was so large and anyone could feel it. So currently everyone had come out on the streets, expecting the worst hollow attack since they started to come a month ago. The roofs were filled with shinobi as they prepared to follow the usual protocol- keep your chakra levels low, protect the civilians and leave the rest to the hollow hunters. Anbu too were prepared as they stood on the highest grounds, some on the roofs while some on the Hokage's monument as they waited to face these hollows if things got out of hands. Most of the population was terrified of this feeling, they had never felt this way their whole life. Some of them had started to faint, not being able to withstand such pressure.

Ayame had her eyes widened as she stared at the sky filled with tiny approaching figures of those monsters, their forms coming closer as the spiritual pressure increased throughout Konoha. She knew that with only her, Naruto and Rangiku at less than even half of her shinigami powers, it was a lost battle. Their only chance was if...

"Hokage-sama, we have no choice," she turned to Hiruzen with a serious expression making him nod, who already was in his battle gear- having gotten rid of his robes before.

"Hm, what are you two planning?" Anko asked with some impatience in her voice as she stood there, gazing at the hollows with scrunched up eyebrows while her chakra levels were already raised at their maximum output.

"That's something we discussed along with Teuchi-san and Naruto-kun should something like this ever happen," Matsumoto replied with a serious expression making her look at the blonde.

"You were expecting such an attack?"

"With the number of hollows constantly increasing, we had to consider the possibility," she answered while Ayame ate a Soul Replicating Pill as she entered her shinigami form making Anko's eyes widen.

"Hey, don't do that in public here! What if someone saw you do that?"

"It doesn't matter now. Let them see, they're going to see everything tonight anyway," she verbalized with a grim expression before covering her head with the hood.

"RAT, BOAR!" Hiruzen exclaimed as two Anbu blurred to appear in a kneeled position beside him.

"Inform all jounins and other Anbu black ops to raise their chakra levels to the maximum and prepare to fight the hollows. You two yourself increase your own chakra levels too. And for the chunins, have them eva-"

"Wait Hiruzen-san, let me do this the much quicker way," Rangiku interfered making the old kage look at her in confusion while the two Anbu briefly wondered as to why she would refer to the Hokage with his name directly.

"I'll try to hold them as long as I can!" Ayame uttered in her shinigami form as she jumped into the air, using reishi particles to serve as a platform for her in the air. The two Anbu, who had just raised their chakra levels were flabbergasted to notice that one of the hollow hunters had been standing amongst them all along- and even more surprised that they could see her after raising their chakra levels.

Folding up the fabric of her sleeve, Rangiku's fingertips began to glow due to her white reiryoku as she formed several square black markings on her forearms before extending her palms directly in front of her to form a white glowing rectangular box.

Anko and Hiruzen watched with baited breath for they had never seen such a spell.

_'Is that the special ninjutsu of Matsumoto-san that's so talked about these days? I've never seen such a thing, there aren't even any handsigns...just some sort of incantation they saw,'_ Boar thought in amazement as he gazed at the blonde tokubetsu jounin.

"**Black and white net. Twenty-two**

**bridges, sixty-six crowns and belts.**

**Footprints, distant thunder, sharp peak, engulfing land, hidden in the night, sea of clouds, blue line. Form a circle and fly though the heavens!**" Matsumoto exclaimed with a serious expression while several white root-like extensions originated from the other side of rectangle, fading into the distance as they pointed in almost all directions.

"**Bakudō no Shichijushichi-Tenteikūra! **(Way of Binding 77- Heavenly Rickshaws in Silken Air)" she exclaimed loudly while the surrounding civilians were too busy gazing upwards in horror. Upon naming the kido, the root-like extensions now started to glow making her nod in satisfaction.

"Place a hand on my shoulder and speak, your voice should be heard by almost everyone in Konoha," she spoke when Anko's eyes widened upon hearing Rangiku's voice mentally, as if she could hear her telepathically also.

Hiruzen, for his part nodded before placing a hand on her shoulder as he gave away his orders while ordering the chunins to start evacuating the civilians to safety.

"Hey, did you hear that too?"

"Yeah, he somehow communicated telepathically with all of us. Alright, let's get to work!"

Meanwhile, all the ninja- whether they be chunin, jounin or Anbu let go of their restraints on their chakra as they stared at the intimidating sight of a wave of hollows approaching Konoha from high up there.

"W-What's that?"

"Are they hollows?"

"There are so many! Is Orochimaru going crazy! How can there be so many summons?"

"Will you stop quivering like runts! We have to fight them! Prepare yourselves, as soon as they come in range, we're going to attack together!"

**Konoha: Hokage's Monument**

"You heard that Kakashi? It definitely was Hokage-sama! I guess your theory was right after all. Raising chakra levels do help us view them clearly, and now that we are not compressing any of our chakra- they are clearer than ever," Asuma spoke after appearing beside the silver haired jounin in a puff of smoke, who currently was staring upwards into the dark sky filled with hundreds of hollows.

"They sure are taking their sweet time reaching the ground,"he muttered making the bearded jounin look upwards too. These two were currently standing with numerous other jounins and Anbu there on the Hokage's head as they all prepared themselves.

"I think they are falling in from some serious altitude up there. It's been several minutes since we spotted them approaching us," he said with with scrunched eyebrows.

"It's also because of that hollow hunter up there trying to stop them from reaching the land," Kakashi uttered making Asuma's eyes widen as he spotted a dot-like black figure, hovering up there in midair.

WHOOOSHHH!

A sudden violent gust of wind swept over the area surrounding them making them skid backwards a bit as they applied chakra to their feet to stick to the surface.

"What power? Is that hollow hunter a wind chakra user?" someone amongst the group asked in astonishment.

"That idiot, he should know with so many hollows, he's got no chance against them. This time, we ourselves have to step in for the protection of our village. And where's the other hunter?" Asuma questioned with a frown when Kakashi lowered his lone eye to stare over the village.

"I think he's trying to buy us sometime so we can get ourselves ready and evacuate the civilians in time," he stated. Currently, almost all the rooftops were occupied by the leaf shinobi and kunoichi out there, taking the highest grounds possible as they waited for the impending attack as the hollows growing closer with each passing second.

**With Ayame: Several Minutes Earlier**

Using accurate and extremely fast flash steps, travelling long distances in a single step, Ayame blurred towards the wave of hollows at blazing speeds- the howls of anguish pounding her ear drums more loudly with the decreasing distance between them.

"This should be it," she muttered to herself, now standing almost about half a mile above Konoha as she unsheathed her zanpakutou while the hollows drew near.

_'I don't know if Naruto-kun is going to come, but I'll have to slay as much of these hollows as I can. Damn, that __**kumon**__ (Air Gate) still hasn't closed, they just keep coming out. It's like there's no end to them,'_ she thought with a frown as the moonlight reflected off her petite form in the dark sky.

Nodding to herself, she lifted her zanpakutou to hold it in front of her horizontally, a bit tilted downwards. Gently grazing her index and middle finger over the flat metal till it's tip, she spiked her reiatsu abruptly before exclaiming loudly.

"**Zōfuku Suru: Sazanami Sesshoku! **(Amplify: Ripple Touch)" a burst of sky blue reiryoku shot forth her body as her reiatsu levels increased by several times.

The flaring reiryoku around her slowly died down to show her form; holding a katana the same size as before.

It's hilt was a glossy shade of royal blue, a silver kanji for 'Ripple' glowing on it; covering the periphery of the round hilt with the Tsuba being octagonal in shape, a dark shade of pink. The metal blade was an unsual shade of indigo, which seemed to be constantly covered with a visible layer of her sky blue spiritual energy/reiryoku.

"**A shinigami!" **

**"So much spiritual power!"**

**"This dimension is something else, the reiatsu is much denser here!"**

**"Let's kill the shinigami first!"**

Several hollows shouted in between the parade of them, having sensed the sudden spike in spiritual energy all around Konoha due to all the shinobi down their increasing their chakra levels and Ayame releasing her shikai.

Seeing them now almost upon her, Ayame couldn't help but be a little intimidated with the sight. Everywhere she looked upwards, all she could see were those white masks and monstrous forms.

Narrowing her eyes, she dashed towards them at mind boggling speeds, using shunpo to produce after-images, confusing the hollows.

SQUELCH!

SQWISH!

BLECHSH!

One after another, she began to slice off their masks at tremendous speeds, not holding back as she attacked wrecklessly while the low-level hollows couldn't even read her movements.

"**There you are!**" easily dodging under the attempted claw strike, she completely pierced his mask with her reiryoku-flamed zanpakutou.

"**Kill her!**" one of them exclaimed as dozens of them jumped at her at the same time. Executing shunpo to dodge their collective attacks, she extended her left palm.

"**Sokatsui! **(Blue Fire Crashdown)" having no time for any incanations while a rather moderate wave of blue lightening shot from her palm to take out the group, completely engulfing their forms.

Suddenly ducking reflexively, a large claw- the side of her mid-section pierced thin air when she shattered the attacker's mask with a brutal kick.

_'Shit! I can't stop all of them, most of these are passing by me. They may be weak, but they are countless in number!'_ Ayame thought with gritted teeth, feeling overwhelmed by so many of them. Leaping to the side, she was able to avoid another attack.

WHAM!

"Agh!" she exclaimed in pain when a large blurry foot slammed into her back side making her propel downwards before flipping herself in midair to skid on the platform- comprising of reishi particles.

"**RAAWWRR!**"

CLANG!

"Guhh!" another attack came quickly as she used Sazanami (her zanpakutou) to block it, gritting her teeth as the hollow applied more pressure while she saw dozens of hollows coming at her from different directions; blood dripping down her chin. Lifting her hand, her other shoulder trembling due to the force, she muttered...

"**Byakurai **(Pale White Lightning)," releasing a white laser-like beam which sliced through the hollow's claw to pierce his mask, a bit of blood splattering on Ayame's face through the hood as she used several flash steps to descend towards the land; gaining some distance from the hollows.

"**Kill the shinigami!"**

**"DEVOUR HER!**"

Seeing them now targeting her in groups, she slammed her left hand on the reishi platform she was standing on.

_'Right now, the only thing that is in contact with Sazanami Sesshouku is the wind, it should be perfect for wide range attacks and the spirit particles of the wind element are easiest to amplify.'_

"**Bakudo no Nijuichi: Sekienton** (Way of Binding 21: Red Smoke Flight)," and just like a shinobi's smoke bomb, a wide area surrounding Ayame was covered in a large amount of dense smoke making the hollows lose sight of her.

"**You think you can run away shinigami?**" one of them exclaimed in fury as they dashed towards the smoke with demonic roars from above.

SWOOSHH!

Some of them in the front line stopped when suddenly wind began to pick with the amount of smoke increasing at a fast rate.

"**T-This reiatsu...who is this shinigami?"**

A large spiritual pressure began to weigh them down when the smoke was suddenly lifted away with another wave of aggressive wind pushing them back a bit.

It revealed to show the glowing form of Ayame, surrounded by wind spiralling around her form at high velocity; it looked to be a tornado of sorts. Her eyes were glowing sky blue in color due to her spiritual energy, visible through the darkness of her hooded face- intimidating the hollows while the reiryoku around her zanpakutou had also flared; which currently was being held loosely by her side.

"**What is that?**" a hollow shouted in his demonic voice as wind had started to flow around their forms rather voilently with Ayame's reiatsu increasing furthermore.

"**Hyperbolize the ripples, Sazanami**," she whispered to herself with a serious expression as her zanpakutou started to vibrate a bit.

Gripping the hilt tightly, she lazily lifted Sazanami Sesshouku in the form of a blurred vertical upward slash, slicing through thin air.

**SWIISHH!**

"**ARGH!**"

"**URGSH!**"

The next thing the frozen hollows in front of Ayame knew, their whole bodies were completely sliced and shredded in every possible way, large amounts of blood spraying in midair due to being hit by a whistling, destructive shockwave of a wind slamming into them within the blink of an eye. It was over just in matter of just a second as their bloodied forms disintegrated into spirit particles, their pained screams vanishing into nothingness with their numbers being reduced in large numbers due to the wide range of the attack as the sharp wave of wind kept extending outwards like a ripple, it's power decreasing with increasing distance.

Glancing down at the village, she noticed that many of the hollows still had escaped her but were being taken care of by the shinobi down there.

_'These hollows may be extremely large in number, but they are weak. Even low level chunins should be able to handle them. But these hollows just keep coming out, why isn't that kumon closing? Tou-san was right, someone is behind all this, there's definitely something going on in Hueco Mundo,'_ she thought with a frown before sidestepping a sneak attack from behind to stab her zanpakutou into another hollow behind her.

_'Wind's reishi are the easiest to amplify and will take lesser spiritual energy, it's best that I just stick here and concentrate on aerial attacks,'_ she thought with a grim expression, now getting irritated due to the constant pained howls and screams- it was as if someone was constantly screeching into her ears!

Spiking her reiatsu again, she prepared for another attack as Sazanami again started to flare with sky blue reiryoku, vibrating a bit in her hands.

"HAAHHH!" Ayame exclaimed as she fired the same attack, forming another destructive shockwave of wind with the result being a large number of hollows being erased from existence. Her attack though didn't seem to have any affect on numbers as they just kept coming at her with the three-fourth passing through her- intent on devouring the numerous spiritual energy enriched souls down there.

Ayame however kept on attacking relentlessly mixing some Kido moves in between, intent on wiping as much hollows as she could. The only reason she was still high up in the sky, fighting them even when she should have been easily overwhelmed by their sheer quantity was because most of them were simply going for Konoha instead of one shinigami; else Ayame would have been pushed back easily to fight them with other shinobi.

**With Konoha**

"**Katon:** **Karyuu Endan! (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame**

**Projectile)**" Mikoto exclaimed after going through a set of blurry hand seals, firing a jet of dense hot fire from her mouth into the sky. The group of hollows screamed in pain as they disintegrated into spirit particles while the Uchiha matriarch jumped through roofs, dashing towards the Hokage's monument.

_'I remember everything now...that day, that was the first time I'd seen a hollow. When...I'm sure it was Naruto-kun! The memory is still cloudy, but...I just somehow know it was him,'_ she thought with a serious expression while bolting through the streets of Konoha with other shinobi busy taking care of other hollows on the rooftops. Screams of pain and anguish now filled Konoha as the hollows were destroyed one after another, but they still kept coming in waves.

"**Hey there, your spiritual energy is veeeeery tasty**," she skidded to a halt as one giant hollow landed in front of her, shaking the ground somewhat due to its bulky size.

_'Spiritual energy? So he can sense my spiritual energy? Chakra sensors are there, but sensing a person's spiritual energy?'_ she thought with narrowed eyes, her Sharingan activated while she paced through a few handseals.

"**Katon: Kaen Kage Kunai no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Flame Shadow Kunai Technique)," she uttered in a low tone before emitting a moderate jet of fire from her mouth. Covering a short distance, the fire faded out as several kunai, set on flames zipped through the air before completely piercing through the hollow at multiple parts of his body, one specifically piercing a hole in its mask.

"**GRAAGHH!**" Mikoto somewhat winced at hearing its loud screams, her ears now ringing while the bulky hollow slowly vanished. Shaking her head a bit, she continued to her destination; now blurring through the streets with the chunins busy evacuating the panicked, terror filled civilians.

Upon recieving Hiruzen orders, when Mikoto had raised her chakra levels- it was as if the memories of that day a month ago had come flooding her mind immediately upon seeing the hollows.

_'And then there's this strange way these creatures are dying, they just vanish into thin air...no corpses whatsoever. It's as if they have no physical significance...as if they are just made of spiritual energy only? Is that the reason why I can't see any chakra in them with my Sharingan?'_ her mind raged with unanswered questions, all around her total havoc as if it was a great shinobi war all over again with spraying blood painting the dark sky.

**Near the Ichiraku's Ramen Stand**

"This will cause problems for us later Rangiku-chan! With all the villagers knowing of the existence of hollows and now aware of the secret of seeing them, surely they will come to know about the shinigami stuff as well!" Anko spoke as she threw several kunai in the direction of some approaching hollows with deadly accuracy, instantly killing them by destroying their masks. Matsumoto however was attacking them through close range, her katana in action as she sliced through them like butter, currently standing on one of the roofs with Anko.

"You don't have to worry about that. Let them see everything, it's not like they're gonna remember anything of what's happening today. Besides... **Shakkaho!** (Red Fire Cannon)," she suddenly exclaimed to exude a medium sized red ball of spiritual energy, crashing into a large hollow's mask, taking him out on the spot.

"Besides, we told you about **Kaikeisoushinki **(Account-Removal Spirit Device) before right? It's the upgrade for **Kikanshinki **(Account-Replacement Spirit Device). It can be used on a large scale and eliminates all memories regarding any hollows or shinigami. This whole event will be wiped out from their minds!" she spoke, her eyes narrowed while Anko stood behind her; their backs touching.

"And what about the fact that if we kill hollows instead of purifying them, which a shinigami's zanpakutou does, the balance of all the dimensions would be in danger?" asked the snake mistress, curious as Ayame had once informed her that 'killing' these corrupted souls or hollows would decrease the overall number of souls and affect the stability of all the dimensions. It was the reason why Quincy from the other living dimension were banned from killing hollows all those years ago.

"It all comes down to the choice of saving the people here or worry about the balance. We can't just let them kill all these people. Besides, we are only fighting back in defence, I'm sure the spirit king wouldn't mind, it's not our fault that so many hollows are just barging in through!" she verbalized quickly.

"Anko!" both of them turned their heads in the direction of source of the voice.

"Kurenai-chan!" Anko exclaimed, dodging a hollow as the genjutsu specialist landed besides them.

"What's going on? I just returned from a mission to find the village being attacked, and then other jounins told me to raise my chakra levels to fight these hollows. I thought we couldn't see these creatures at all," she said with a frown while the snake mistress skidded to a halt besides her after dispatching another one whereas Matsumoto was busy killing other hollows on the neighbouring roof.

"Well, just go with the flow right now, your questions can be answered later," Anko stated while going through several handseals.

"**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu! **(Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique)" before shooting several balls of fire onto the incoming hollows from above.

"Damn! All we can do is attack from long range, I wish I could fly like the shinigami!" she complained with a frustrated sigh making Kurenai blink.

"Shinigami?" she questioned in confusion making Anko laugh nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Y-Yeah! I mean, death gods must have the ability to fly, wouldn't they? I mean they're gods after all!" she blabbered while waving her hands in dismissal when Kurenai threw a kunai towards her.

SQUELCH!

Anko's eyes widened when it whizzed past her, iches away from her right ear to slice through a hollow's mask as it's blood sprayed on the back of her head making her eyebrows twitch.

"The hell is wrong with you?" she yelled while pointing an accusing finger at her best friend who just sighed at her.

"Your welcome. Besides, I thought you liked blood," Kurenai spoke with a smirk making the purple haired kunoichi 'hmph' in response who turned her head upwards to throw more shuriken and kunai.

"Well, ain't this a good target practise?" she muttered to herself with a giddy smirk as all around her shinobi were busy dispatching these hollows.

"Tell me...Anko, why isn't genjutsu affecting them?" Kurenai asked in between the fighting making Anko's eyes widen a bit.

"Well, let's just say only physical damage is the key to kill these bastards!" she exclaimed as the hollows continued to rain upon Konoha, the night which was supposed to be another peaceful and silent one like usual, was now filled with blood curling screams, cries of pain while the sky itself looked to be painted red due to so much blood as Ayame kept on attacking them relentlessly.

**On Hokage's Monument**

"**Raikiri! **(Lightning Edge)" Kakashi exclaimed with narrowed eyes, his Sharingan now in use as he slammed his hand- flaring with violent sparks of lightning; into another hollow's mask as drops of blood now covered his masked face.

"**Fūton: Fūjin no Jutsu! **(Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique)," Asuma uttered loudly before releasing a jet-like wave of wind from his mouth, constituting of sharp dust particles as it killed several hollows coming in its contact instantaneously.

"**Raiton: Kangekiha! **(Lightning Release: Inspiration Wave)," an Anbu exclaimed before killing several hollows, courtesy of a white lightning laser-like attack being fired from his index finger.

"Their screams are really starting to mess my head now," Asuma spoke with a frown as he clamped his ears with his hands, Kakashi standing besides him as the ones standing on the Hokage's heads continued to throw long range ninjutsu one after another.

"They just don't stop coming. It's as if they don't have any end to them. We can't keep this up forever, eventually all of us will run out of chakra," the silver haired jounin stated with a grim expression.

"That guy up there really is something, he's been going at it constantly for sometime," Asuma spoke while gazing up at the sky where Ayame was releasing amplified wind attacks one after another.

"**Katon: Housenka Tsumabeni no Jutsu!** (Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Nails Red Technique)" a feminine voice came from below them as several shuriken, covered with blazing hot flames came into

everyone's view from below the Hokage's monument; sailing through thin air as they sliced through any hollows in their way like butter.

Following the attack, a figure blurred through before landing on the sandaime's head.

"Mikoto-sama," Kakashi acknowledged when Hiruzen too appeared beside him via shunshin.

"Hokage-sama, we have to do something about that rip in the sky. That's the main source for all these hollows," Mikoto spoke seriously making Hiruzen nod with Kakashi and Asuma too agreeing with her.

"And where's Naruto-kun? I couldn't find him anywhere," she spoke in utter seriousness while Hiruzen somewhat jerked a bit at the mention of the blonde's name.

_'Come to think of it, I haven't seen him anywhere. I guess failing the exams affected him real deeply. I hope he's alright,'_ the old kage thought in worry.

**With Ayame**

Currently Ayame was firing her attacks continuously, now a bit out of breath.

_'This is blasphemy! They just keep coming, the only option left is to force the kumon to close itself. Tou-san did taught me the spell, but there's no way I can reach the kumon all the way up there with so many hollows, they just keep pushing me back,'_ she thought with a frown, her shinigami attire torn in several places while most of her black garb was now covered with blood.

"Ayame-chan!" she snapped her head back to see Rangiku shunpo'ing towards her at a fast rate.

"Rangiku-chan?" Ayame questioned as Matsumoto appeared beside her, now wearing a plain white garb instead of the shinigami's black one.

"I left my gigai down there in my apartment, these hollows are pretty weak and everyone is easily handling them down there. I thought I'd lend you some help. I've recovered enough of my powers to fight these weak hollows atleast, even if I have no zanpakutou," she spoke with a grim expression on her face while Ayame nodded, taking off her hood to reveal her face; drops of blood on her skin which she wiped with the fabric of her sleeve.

"Yeah, thanks for coming up here. Their numbers are increasing each second. But I can force the kumon up there to close if I can just reach it. Can you back me up Ran...," Ayame's eyes widened as her voice trailed in shock while she was currently gazing at something. Following her line of sight, Matsumoto's breathing hitched in shock upon noticing that another kumon was opening up several meters beside the first one.

"Oh Kami, please don't tell me...," Rangiku muttered when...

"**Got you!"** a hollow exclaimed when Ayame suddenly grabbed her to flash step out of the attack. However she continued to execute shunpo as they travelled farther away from both the kumon in the sky, away from the swarm of hollows descending continuously on the leaf village like a waterfall.

"This is not good! It doesn't even make any sense, now I'm definitely sure someone is doing this on purpose," Ayame uttered, her tone frustrated while she looked to be panting a bit. Currently they were standing directly high above the Hokage's monument with an altitude of about half a mile; their forms only visible as dots from ground even with Mikoto's and Kakashi's Sharingan.

"Look, that kumon is even wider than the first one," Matsumoto pointed out with dread filling her. With no zanpakutou and equipped with less than half of her shinigami powers, she knew she couldn't do much in this situation. With Teuchi out, only Ayame remained with no signs of Naruto whatsoever. And even if Naruto was here, she knew he couldn't have made much of a difference. He had improved tremendously over the past month and had gained considerable control over his huge reiryoku reserves, but still...they needed quantity here; not quality.

Ayame continued to gaze at the jet stream that were the countless hollows, when more hollows began to rip their way in through the newly opened kumon.

_'What do we do?'_ she thought while biting her lower lip, an expression of desperation on her face as she clenched the hilt of Sazanami tightly. Matsumoto too seem to have no answers as she looked at the scene with hopelessness.

_'If only I had my powers,'_ she thought with clenched fists when Ayame spoke.

"We've got to close both the kumon, you just watch my back Rangiku-chan...I'll handle the rest," a firm expression on her face when the blonde put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure? The number of hollows coming are almost double than before, it's next to impossible to reach up there with just the two of us. If only Naruto-kun was...," she trailed as both of them snapped their heads back to look into the forests from way up there.

_'He's here!'_ both of them thought simultaneously, sensing his reiatsu nearby which strangely was increasing with each passing second.

**With Other's on the Hokage Monument**

"More hollows?" someone exclaimed amongst the group as their eyes widened when more hollows, almost double than before; began to attack relentlessly.

"Hokage-sama, have all the civilians been evacuated to safety?" Mikoto asked with a frown as she walked to stand in the front, her long black hair flowing with the wind while Kakashi stood there with clenched fists, Asuma no longer present for he had left the monument to aid the others.

"What do we do now? There are just so many!" someone voiced from behind.

"We fight! That's what we do!" the sandaime Hokage stated loudly, a serious expression on his face when Mikoto turned around to look at him with a serious expression on her face.

"I ask again, where is the second hollow hunter...where is Naruto-kun?" she asked with a piercing gaze making Hiruzen's eyes widen in shock.

_'What the...,'_ he thought in astonishment while Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"What are you talking ab-"

"JIJI!" everyone turned their heads back to see a familiar blonde sailing towards them, having jumped off the cliffy wall from behind them.

"Naruto...," the Hokage muttered with wide eyes as he along with every jounin and Anbu stared at his grinning face.

"Where's ever- GAH!"

THUD!

"N-Naruto-kun...," Mikoto whispered, a bit startled as the blonde currently laid flat on his face on the concrete surface just inches away from her feet- having landed on the monument only to somehow miraculously slip, his jaw crashing onto the ground; skidding on the surface to halt just in front of her.

"Ugh...what happened?" he groaned as the blonde slowly stood up, cupping his jaw while everyone else sweatdropped at his antics.

_'That's...one hell of a clumsy entry,'_ one of the jounins thought whereas Hiruzen and Kakashi stared at him in surprise.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" Mikoto asked with a concerned face as she observed him, having multiple bruises on his body while he looked to be sweating profusely.

Smiling at her, he nodded before wiping the sweat off his forehead when his expression suddenly turned serious while other jounins were currently glaring at him, thinking that the demon brat would only make things worse.

"Go hide somewhere else brat! We don't have time to deal with your pranks, the village's under attack!" one of them exclaimed loudly, making Mikoto glare at him. If it was not for the urgency of the situation; she would have taught that idiot a thing or two.

"Jiji, are we following the plan?" the blonde asked, competely ignoring the others while he had a knowing look on his face whereas everyone else found themselves confused at his question.

"Yeah," the professor answered with a smirk making the blonde nod before he turned to the large group of other shinobi.

"I'll show you how much of a brat I am," he said with narrowed eyes before turning around to walk upto the edge of the sandaime's head while Mikoto looked at him in what seemed to be...anticipation?

_'So he really is one of the hunters? It was Naruto-kun that day, I just know it,'_ she thought while Naruto was currently looking upwards.

_'Both of them are up there and seem fine to me, Ayame-chan however is a bit low on reiryoku,'_ he mentally sighed in relief.

"Step back Mikoto-chan, I need some space," he uttered seriously while Mikoto found herself strangely obeying him, his voice sounding much matured.

Hiruzen's eyes though widened when he sensed Naruto's chakra levels growing.

_'Why is he using chakra now?' _he thought while everyone's eyes widened too as his chakra levels kept growing with his body now being outlined by a glowing blue layer of chakra.

THUMP!

"HAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" slamming his hands into the ram seal, Naruto roared as his chakra levels began to sky rocket at mind boggling rates. Everyone stood there stunned as the vast amounts of chakra they could feel being built up by the boy who had just failed his academy graduation exams for the third time.

_'S-So much chakra!'_ Mikoto thought with wide eyes as wind began to pick up around the blonde like a mini vortex, inducing dust all around them.

WHSHOOM!

"Ugh!" she exclaimed when a shockwave of pure chakra expelled from the blonde outwards making everyone shield their eyes from the dust while Naruto's body burst into blue flames of chakra as he continued to power up, his screams now echoing throughout the area.

_'What is he planning?'_ Kakashi thought while he stood there frozen as he saw the blonde's large chakra coils being flooded by overwhelming amounts of chakra. And then there was this pressure that they now began to feel even when their own chakra wasn't compressed now.

_'So much chakra that it's clearly visible now,'_ one of the jounins thought in shock.

_'I've got to use as much chakra as I can! This is a one time thing!'_ Naruto thought as the flaring blue chakra grew denser in color, his blonde spiky locks now flowing violently with the wind when he formed a familiar hand seal.

"**TAJUUUU...**" he yelled loudly, trailing as his chakra easily went past the kage levels now, gritting his teeth as he called out as much as he could.

"**KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!**" he yelled at the top of his lungs, eyes closed in exertion.

_**POOF!**_

ENORMOUS amounts of smoke filled the whole area around the Hokage's monument.

_'No way!'_ everyone except Hiruzen thought collectively as the smoke gradually cleared for them to gaze at something they'd never even imagined.

"W-What is this?" Mikoto stuttered as she took a startled step back, turning her head around the three sixty degree space to see nothing but Naruto-'s'.

The whole of Hokage's monument was filled with the blonde's shadow clones while the others were standing on the cliff wall (on which the Hokage's faces are carved) using chakra to stick to the surface. So much were their numbers that seeing from far, it looked as if the wall itself was painted orange. Even the roof of the Hokage's office, which was beneath the monument was not spared by the colossal technique that the whiskered blonde had just executed.

**With Rangiku and Ayame**

"Hey, why is it so much orange down there all of a sudden?" Rangiku asked in confusion making Ayame look down as her eyes widened in shock.

"What are they doing? It must be Naruto-kun, his reiryoku had fired up suddenly just now, he must have created shadow clones using his massive chakra reserves," she deduced.

"C'mon, let's go," Ayame said when Matsumoto grabbed her arm.

"Wait, look down there. I don't think he would create so many shadow clones only to fight on the ground. Usually, he would have just entered his shinigami form to aid us up here. He must be planning something," she explained with a serious expression before shunpo'ing closer to the ground, taking Ayame with her who was getting anxious by the second as the hollows continued to pour through the two air gates (kumon).

**Hokage Monument**

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! LET'S DO IT!OUT WITH THE FREAKY GLOVES!" the real Naruto, standing on the edge yelled as his around thousands of clones chorused in agreement while the jounins and Anbu stood there baffled, in awe of the sight around them. How did an academy failure knew a forbidden technique and the tree-walking phenomenon?

"Naruto, what are you planning?" Hiruzen asked with a serious expression, stepping forward while Mikoto too approached him.

Turning around, panting a bit due to using so much chakra, the blonde smirked at the duo as he took out the familiar black glove, having a white skull printed on it- the **Gokon Tekkō**.

"What is that Naruto-kun?" Mikoto asked as Kakashi too came forward while Naruto just ignored them as he continued to smirk at Hiruzen.

"The Shadow Clone technique, along with chakra, also divides a user's soul," he simply stated making Hiruzen's eyes widen as everything immediately formed a clear picture for the Hokage while the blonde pressed the glove to his chest with the rest of the clones doing the same.

The result was, as expected, thousands of blonde shinigami, in their adult versions now standing on reishi-based platforms in midair.

Everbody stood there speechless, stunned, astonished, flabbergasted, amazed, awed with their jaws hammering onto the ground.

"N-No way...Naruto-kun?" Mikoto asked in a quivering voice, gazing at the tall figure in front of her, besides whom was laying his original body while all the other shadow clones unsheathed Haineko. Everywhere in the sky the jounins and Anbu looked, all they could see were the flying forms of shinigami Naruto, not a single word escaping their mouths.

Hiruzen however, even in his moment of unbelief and with an expression of impossibility, could feel his lips curling upwards.

_'Darn ingenious! So that's why he created so many shadow clones! But where did he get that tid bit of information regarding the shadow clones, I never told him.'_

"CHARGE FORWARD YOU GUYS! LET'S HAVE A HOLLOW HUNTING COMPETITION!" Naruto yelled, his zanpakutou still sheathed.

"You got it boss!"

"Kill those wierd masked creatures!"

"This is gonna be fun!"

Enthusiastic shouts filled the area as the clones one by one shunpo'ed out, bolting forwards at blazing speeds higher upto into the sky to face the raining hollows.

Turning back to face Mikoto, the real blonde grinned while she could feel her cheeks heating up. Averting his eyes to the other stupified ninja, Naruto couldn't help but smirk again,

"Who's the brat now?" before blurring out as he flash stepped away, leaving others dumbfounded and an amused Hokage.

**I hope you people liked this chapter. One thing I wanted to clear out is that since Naruto already had extremely large spiritual energy reserves from the beginning, combined with his physical energy reserves also increasing comsiderably during his training due to his extreme physical workout...he has much larger reserves than the manga Naruto. **

**Don't forget to review and tell me what you think. :)**

**N6023**


	12. Ash Cat Returned!

**Hey guys! I'm sorry for the late update…am really sorry (I've been doing that pretty frequently recently lol). But still, I apologize. Now with nothing more to add except saying thanks for all the reviews, let's move on- **

**Chapter-12-Ash Cat Returned!**

"CHARGE FORWARD YOU GUYS! LET'S HAVE A HOLLOW HUNTING COMPETITION!" Naruto yelled while his zanpakutou was still sheathed.

"You got it boss!"

"Kill those weird masked creatures!"

"This is gonna be fun!"

Enthusiastic shouts filled the area as the clones one by one shunpo'ed out, bolting forwards at blazing speeds higher upto into the sky to face the raining hollows.

Turning back to face Mikoto, the real blonde grinned while she could feel her cheeks heating up. Averting his eyes to the other stupefied ninja, Naruto couldn't help but smirk again,

"Who's the brat now?" he asked mockingly before blurring out as he flash stepped away, leaving others dumbfounded and an amused Hokage.

**With Naruto**

Flash stepping through the barrage of his own clones, the original Naruto in his shinigami form soared higher into the sky before he stopped to turn towards his clones as the hollows (coming through the newly opened kumon) approached them from higher levels.

'_Considering the amount of shadow clones I made, the chakra that each clone had was already low. And now that all of them are in their spiritual forms, the amount of spiritual energy that each of these possess will be even lower as the quantity of reiryoku in a gigai is roughly the half of chakra. Meaning their spiritual forms are even weaker when they were in their gigai bodies. Due to the shortage of reiryoku, if they use kido- they would just dispel themselves.'_

"Alright listen! DON'T use kido and just concentrate on zanjutsu!" he yelled as his countless clones nodded. Now that he could see their numbers from a higher level, the blonde himself was amazed at the sheer number of them he had produced. He couldn't even see the buildings or the ground beneath them- his vision was just filled with blonde hair, back shinigami garbs and large metallic blades, such was their quantity.

Turning back, the blonde wiped the sweat of his forehead as he took deep breaths- already panting due to exhaustion.

"GO!" Naruto exclaimed as his clones started to blur from his sight, using shunpo to close the gap between them and the approaching hollows.

'_I hope this works….I'm pretty low on reiryoku now,'_ the blonde thought as he looked up, still panting lightly before he too flash stepped out.

Meanwhile, Naruto's shinigami clones continued to blur upwards at blundering speeds as the hollows drew near. Rearing their zanpakutou, all of them gave shouts of war…

"LET'S GET THEM!"

"AAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!"

They yelled as they sailed through the sky agains gravity as the large amount of hollows too came barging in.

"**RAARRRRWWWW!**" their anguished loud howls filled the earlier silent sky when both the groups clashed with each other.

CLANG!

THWING!

SQUELCH!

**CWANG!**

Sounds of blood spraying in mid-air, metal clashing against the steel claws of the hollows, flesh being torn up and pained screams of the hollows filled the sky while the shinigami clones just puffed out of existence without any smoke. Clearly it was a sight to behold as the two sides slaughtered each other without any mercy, the sky as if painted red while those standing on the Hokage monument continued to stare at the mass slaughter with wide eyes.

**With Ayame and Matsumoto**

Currently Rangiku and Ayame were blurring towards the fighting zone in the sky, intent on helping Naruto.

'_Naruto-kun….you're really something,'_ the blonde lieutenant thought, inwardly extremely impressed by the extents he seemed to go to save his village, to save his precious people.

'_Using a ninja technique in conjunction with shinigami ones- it's something I've never heard of,'_ Ayame thought, a serious expression on her face as she continued to dash forwards.

"Whoa!" Matsumoto exclaimed as both of them suddenly stopped when Naruto blurred in front of them out of nowhere.

"H-Hey you two…how's it going?" he spoke while panting, a small smile on his face as the trio stood in mid air while the shinigami clones continued to battle with the hollows, the sky being filled screams and metal sounds.

"N-Naruto-kun, what are you doing here? And are you alright….you look tired," Ayame spoke in concern while Rangiku too gazed at him in worry.

"Nah, I'm fine. Just a little out of breath…I'll be alright," he said with his eyes half-lidded in fatigue, Haineko slung over his shoulder while Ayame too was panting a bit.

"No you're not," Matsumoto spoke with narrowed eyes making him sigh while Ayame just nodded with her.

"She's right, you should take a breather. Just leave the rest to us," Ayame uttered with a smile while Naruto shook his head in denial, a frown on his face.

"I'll go down and help the others. My clones should be able to stop these incoming hollows, the only problem left is to somehow close that air gate," he spoke obstinately with a serious expression while the frown on Ayame's face got deeper.

"Listen here, don't try to act like a hero! You're already tired enough and it looks like you could faint any moment! Don't give me that stub-" she stopped when Rangiku put a hand on her shoulder, a sigh escaping the blonde's lips.

"Leave it Ayame-chan, it's no use when he gets stubborn like this. I've been living with him for a month now, believe me," she spoke while Ayame gritted her teeth whereas Naruto had already flash stepped out of there towards Konoha.

"You don't need to tell me that! I've known him much longer than you!" Ayame snapped with an angry expression on her face.

Rangiku had a shocked expression on her face as she stood there speechless. Turning back with a frustrated sigh, Ayame blurred out of there; leaving a stunned blonde.

'_Ayame-chan….'_

**On Hokage's Monument**

"Hokage-sama, what's going on?" Mikoto asked with a serious expression as she turned towards the fire shadow of Konoha while other jounins kept gazing at the sky, watching the battle with bated breath. Hiruzen however sighed as a wind blew past them.

'_How the hell did she get back her memories of that day in the first place?'_ he inwardly groaned while she narrowed her eyes at him.

"And don't try to lie to me. Naruto-kun is very close to me and you'd better tell me what's going on with him. It's bad enough because of what happened thirteen years ago and now I find him all grown up with his body lying here. .?" she asked, her Sharingan activated as she glared at Hiruzen. Currently she had Naruto's head resting on her lap (his body) as she rubbed his forehead.

"I'll explain later Mikoto-san. First we have to deal with the situation at hand. If you can, just take care of Naruto-kun's body," he spoke with a grim expression, and before she could say anything- the old Hokage quickly turned around towards other standing jounins.

"Everyone, now that the hollows coming from the sky are being taken care of, let's aid others in the village!" he ordered loudly before shunshining out of there followed by other jounins until only Kakashi and Mikoto were left.

"Mikoto-sama, take care of him," he spoke softly after walking upto her as the copy ninja gazed at the blonde.

"Don't worry Kakashi, I wouldn't let anything happen to him. You go and help others," she uttered with a serious expression, now gazing at the sky as the clones clashed with the hollows. Nodding lightly, he too vanished out in a leaf shunshin.

'_Naruto-kun….just what is going on with you? We promised that we would tell each other everything. You were hiding all this from me all the time?'_ she thought with a sad sigh escaping her lips as she stared at the unconscious expression on his face. Both were close to each other, even if the age gap was large…still the blonde boy behaved like he was her best friend; like she knew him for so long. After the Uchiha clan massacre, after he had somehow, miraculously saved her that night- he was the only she had. He acted so mature, he was so kind and caring…it, it was unreal. Sasuke and her were supposed to be a comforting support for each other, but that gap was filled by Naruto. Sometimes she would cry on his shoulder, letting her sadness and sorrow out and sometimes, he would express himself to her. However, one thing she noticed was that he had never cried in front of her…it bothered her, it made her feel like he didn't trust her enough. He was always there to comfort her, she had let him enter her soul- then why wouldn't he let her enter his soul, why wouldn't he open up to her completely? Did he not trust her enough? It really clenched her heart to think of that possibility.

And hence it was not a surprise that Mikoto seemed saddened by the fact that he was hiding things from her.

'_Why wouldn't you let me comfort you?'_ she wondered for almost a hundredth time now as she sifted her hand through his blonde locks, still on full alert with her Sharingan activated. Lifting her head, she again gazed over the village- filled with Konoha nin and hollows fighting each other.

'_I hope Sasuke-kun's alright.'_

**Konoha**

"Ungh!" Kurenai exclaimed as she kicked a hollow on its mask, cracking it as the creature screamed in pain before he slowly vanished from existence. Taking out several shuriken, she threw them simultaneously at a group of approaching hollows.

'_Damn it! With genjutsu useless here, there's not much I can do except standard attacks,'_ she thought, so far using only taijutsu and some fire element ninjutsu. Some distance away from her was Anko, who was standing on a giant snake summon as she killed one hollow after another.

'_I still can't believe my eyes,'_ Kurenai thought as she gazed into the sky where thousands of Naruto's shinigami clones were mercilessly throwing themselves at the hollows. In fact, almost every leaf shinobi had their jaws hanging in shock upon noticing so many hollow hunters.

'_All this time, the yondaime Hokage was alive after all. But then why did he leave the village to become a mercenary?' _she pondered, panting lightly as her ruby eyes were fixated on the battle going up there while all around her were ninja taking out these unending creatures. No one could believe that one of the hollow hunter was the yondaime Hokage, who else could it be with blonde hair and blue eyes? The face was almost the same too!

"Look out Kurenai!" the genjutsu mistress's eyes widened upon hearing Anko's yell.

"**GRAAWWRRGH!**" the loud pained scream almost destroyed her ear drums as she clenched her ears shut, her eyes closed in pain as the hollow's claw drew near her neck in slow motion.

SQUISH!

Drops of blood sprayed on her face as she snapped her eyes open to see a panting blonde standing in front of her, a large zanbatou posed in front of him after seemingly he had beheaded the hollow in a horizontal slash.

"Hey….you alright?" he asked, still panting heavily while his face sported numerous bruises as blood dripped down his forehead. She stood there, her pupils now trembling in anxiety and adrenaline as she gazed at the hollow hunter in front of her.

'_This…this is not the Yondaime Hokage!'_ she mentally spoke in shock after seeing the whisker marks on his cheeks, there was only one….and ONLY one person you could find with that facial characteristic.

"N-Naruto?" she stuttered in question while the blonde's eyes widened a bit. He hadn't expected her to recognize him right away.

'_It doesn't matter though…they'll forget everything that they see tonight after all,'_ he thought before smiling at her.

"Well…yeah I guess," he uttered making her pupil zoom out in shock.

"B-But….how did you grow up so quickly?" even though the village was in danger, even though he was panting in exhaustion…the blonde couldn't help but feel like laughing like crazy at seeing the look on her face, still he compromised by clenching his jaw tight.

"W-Well, let's just say I hit a growth spurt," he grinned while she narrowed her eyes, though there was also this small blush on her cheeks. During the past month, she had met Naruto several times due to Anko training the kid. She had to say, there was more to the blonde than it met the eyes. Only in public did he act like an idiot, when they would meet in isolated area or when they were alone, only then Kurenai would see the real him. And she had to say, she was stunned by his maturity and IQ. It also didn't help how Anko wouldn't stop bragging about the blonde, sometimes it looked as if the snake mistress had a crush on the boy. Though she couldn't muster up a possible reason why Anko would feel attracted to Naruto like that, yes…the boy was really cute, but still- there was a significant age gap after all. Or could it be that it was another one of Anko's strange fetishes?

Several times Kurenai had caught Anko blushing lightly at the mention of Naruto. And now Kurenai knew why, cause the young man in front of her was one hell of a looker. He made even her blush- THAT was definitely something! But still, she didn't have time to look at him carefully; their village was in danger after all.

"This is not the time for jokes or your pra-" she stopped abruptly when he just blurred out of her sight.

SQUELCH!

The sound of flesh being ripped entered her slightly injured ears from behind making her eyes widen as she turned back quickly.

'_How could I have not sensed the hollow?'_ she thought in surprise as the just stabbed hollow slowly disintegrated into reishi with Naruto standing in front of its vanishing form. He seemed to be panting heavier than before though. Lifting Haineko, he slung it over his shoulder….

"Agh!" Naruto exclaimed as he found himself tripping on his wobbly feet, falling backwards as Haineko which now felt heavy to him, slipped from his grip.

"Hey!" his eyes widened slightly when slender arms wrapped around his upper body.

"Don't push yourself Naruto…you totally look out of it," she spoke, now holding him as she lowered herself to her knees, letting him sit on the ground with her support.

"I…I'm fine…really," he was really panting heavily now, clearly the blonde was at his limit as beads of sweat dripped down the side of his forehead. Turning his head, he smiled at her with half-lidded eyes, eyes full of determination and steel will.

Kurenai found herself involuntarily blushing at seeing his face up close, but when she gazed into his eyes….she found herself getting lost in them.

'_These eyes….so he was the one protecting the village against the hollows over the month. He really wants to protect this village, so much determination, but for the villagers that treated him so badly? He's pushing himself to protect us all from such a threat,'_ she thought, now knowing that it was his shadow clones fighting up there for them, for the villagers who had scorned and ignored him all his life.

Kurenai normally was a cold woman, life of a kunoichi made you like that. But after seeing the hell the boy had went through all his childhood…and that he still was pushing himself so much to protect their ungrateful asses, she found her ruby eyes getting glossy. They didn't deserve such a thing; she now knew that the village didn't deserve his protection. For the whole month, no one knew his true identity yet he selflessly continued to protect them. He failed his exams, the teachers…she knew they must have done something, and yet he was fighting to save everyone, including those bastard academy teachers.

"Naruto….please don't push yourself. You've already done enough for us, you don't need to fight so hard for us," she spoke in a pleading voice as a lone tear streamed down her cheek while the blonde's eyes widened at seeing her face, at hearing the pleading and soft tone of her voice.

"Kurenai…sensei?" he muttered with wide eyes, now using his elbows to support himself as he sat straight after leaving her grip. He had never seen this side of her. During the month, whenever he had met her…although she would treat him well, smiling at him and often talking to him. Still, there was this aura surrounding her which demanded respect and proper behavior. He didn't expect any sympathy from her, he didn't expect anything from her actually- even though it was strange to think like this. She was a jounin, and he was just a two-time failure, an academy student. So naturally, he felt so low in front of her. Hence, usually he would find himself reserved and not talking much. There was this strange thing- he felt beneath her. Even though he was probably doing the bigger work of protecting the village from the hollows, still he found himself so reserved and low in front of her.

And he was not used to opening up with people. Anko, Shiroi, Ayame, Rangiku, Mikoto, Teuchi and Hiruzen were perhaps the only ones he could talk freely to. Though the only ones he had opened himself completely to were Ayame and Rangiku. Ayame because she was very close to him and was always there for him since he knew. Rangiku however had, for some strange reason, quickly wormed her way into his heart. He just felt so comfortable in her presence. Shiroi too had become very close to him but he had never opened himself completely to her, the same was the case with Mikoto. She was already burdened by her clan getting murdered by Itachi and he didn't want to burden her with his daily problems.

Averting her gaze, Kurenai quickly wiped her eyes before standing up as she quickly steeled her expression.

"You rest Naruto, we'll handle the rest," she verbalized with a small smile while he just stared at her with wide eyes. Oddly, Kurenai again found herself blushing under his stare as she quickly turned around.

'_What is happening to me? And why is he staring at me like that?'_ she thought in anxiety before she saw a hollow approaching them from the sky. Taking out several shuriken, just as she was about to throw them- a kunai whizzed past her to pierce through the hollow's mask, shattering it as he quickly vanished out.

"A-Aim..for the mask," Naruto panted as he stood up, supporting himself with Haineko.

"Don't push yourself Naruto! I alrea-"

"You don't understand….s-sensei. I still…have to take care of that rip in the sky. Until that is closed…..these hollows will just keep coming out," he uttered before taking deep breaths as he now stood beside her while she stared at him in concern, pretty uncharacteristic of her actually.

"Can I help with anything?" both of them turned their heads as Anko landed behind them, a smirk on her face which quickly faded when she noticed the blonde's condition.

"You okay Naruto-kun?" she asked softly while Kurenai again found herself getting immensely surprised over her tone and the way she addressed Naruto. Then does this mean Anko knew about Naruto's secret? Though this was not completely unexpected considering these two had become pretty close to each other over the course of the month.

"Hai…Anko-chan. I'm fine…just, make sure no one gets hurt," he said making her eyes grow soft as she nodded at him a bit hesitantly.

"Understood," she verbalized quietly as he smiled at her before turning to Kurenai.

"Remember to aim for….the mask sensei," he spoke with a light chuckle, pointing at his own forehead. Before she could say anything, he blurred from their eyes as she stood there in silence.

"Watch out!" Anko exclaimed as she jumped towards Kurenai before putting her hand on the ruby eyed kunoichi's shoulder. Using it as a support, she executed a lightning fast vertical wheel kick, a blade snapping out from the tip of her shinobi sandal as it sliced the hollow's mask in two- killing it immediately.

"Phew! I gotta admit this is fun!" she exclaimed enthusiastically with a grin, landing with a grace of a jounin level kunoichi while Kurenai turned towards her; still not saying something.

"Hey…," Anko started as she put a hand on her best friend's cheek, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I know what's happening right now is too much to take for you. Don't lose focus though, these hollows may be weak but still they can easily kill you in your distracted state," a frown etched on her face while Kurenai sighed before nodding to her.

"Yeah, this is just too much to take in. I never imagined Naruto would….well…" she trailed, no words escaping her mouth when the snake mistress grinned.

"I understand, the same happened to me when he told me everything. So don't sweat it and just concentrate okay? We can talk later," she uttered with her expression getting serious as she handed her friend a kunai. Nodding towards Anko, Kurenai clenched the kunai tightly before she looked Anko dead in the eyes.

"I don't know about anything, and I don't think Naruto trusts me enough to tell me everything. But still, do tell him that we are friends….that we were friends before too. Tell him that I consider him as a good friend and he need not hold himself back in front of me. I don't even know if I'm fit to be called his sensei or not," she chuckled at the end while Anko looked at him in confusion.

Sensing another hollow behind her, she quickly bent down as Kurenai threw a kunai at his mask, adding another to her killing count.

"What do you mean? You can say this to him yourself can't you?" she asked, standing up as they now stood up back to back.

"**Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu! **(Fire Release: Fireball Technique)," Kurenai exclaimed after going through a short set of hand seals before releasing a hot ball of fire from her mouth, taking out several hollows in the process.

"It's because I don't think we're gonna remember anything that happens tonight," she verbalized with a sigh making Anko's breathing hitch in her throat.

'_How did she….does she know our plan?'_ she thought in shock while Kurenai continued to fight, a grim expression on her face.

**With Naruto**

As he shunpo'ed higher into the sky all the while panting, Naruto's eyes widened a bit when he spotted Ayame fighting in between his clones.

"Take THIS!" she yelled while slicing her zanpakutou in mid air leading to a large tornado as it took out a large number of hollows at once. Blood sprayed everywhere while Naruto did nothing to avoid the falling red liquid on him; only concentrating on the threat at hand as he too sliced through some hollows- flash stepping towards her form above him.

'_That's some attack,'_ he thought involuntarily, impressed by the destruction caused by the simple swings of her zanpakutou in its **shikai** (Initial Release) state.

"Ayame-chan!" he yelled loudly as she glanced at him through the corner of her eyes before releasing another wave of destructive wind; taking out numerous hollows in the process.

"So….what's the plan?" the blonde asked, beheading a hollow in his path as he reached to stand beside her. Shifting her gaze towards him, Ayame's eyes grew soft upon noticing his weary condition.

"Naruto-kun, don't push yourself. I've already told you," she spoke this time somewhat pleading, now really concerned for him as she lightly panted. Naruto however was surprised at hearing the tone in his voice when she suddenly released another wind attack from Sazanami to kill a group of approaching hollows while he too fired a 'Sokatsui' at several creatures.

"D-Don't worry Ayame-chan. I told you I'm alright. Just tell me what's the plan….I mean….you have to have something planned for this right?" he asked expectantly as they now stood back to back while his clones continued to fight beneath them.

"The plan….is to reach those air gates up there. Think you can back me up?" she asked in concern before he nodded.

"I'm very low on my reiryoku reserves, but an incantation spell should be enough to temporarily clear a path for you!" he yelled over the howls of the hollows as they continued to kill these creatures.

"That's all I need…the rest I can handle myself!" she answered back.

"Fine, then back me up for a while. I need some time for the incantation!" nodding towards him, she flash stepped to stand near him as she continued to attack through her Sazanami Sesshoku. Closing his eyes momentarily, Naruto started to build up a large amount of reiryoku as he started the incantation.

"**Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly, the wrath of your claws**," grabbing his right arm with his left hand, he pointed his right hand upwards as his body began to glow dark purple due to spiritual energy being built up. His right hand palm became to glow dark purple as lightning streaks started crackle around his body when Ayame glanced at him.

'_With his own elemental reiatsu being of lightning type, Naruto-kun's version of Sokatsui is extremely strong; probably stronger than most of the kido experts,'_ she thought as all his built up purple spiritual energy started to concentrate on his palms.

"**Hado no Sanjusan: Sokatsui! **(Way of Destruction 33: Blue Fire, Crash Down)"

CRRRSSSHH!

The crackling lightning fired off his palm at blazing speeds into the sky in the form of a thick purple beam, taking out all the hollows in its way like butter as Naruto maintained the attack, pouring every drop of his remaining reiryoku in this desperation attack.

"GO!" he yelled while Ayame, glancing at him in concern for the last time- blurred out of there as she rocketed higher into the sky at mind boggling speeds, avoiding any hollow in her way.

"S-Shit!" Naruto exclaimed in a hoarse voice as his kido began to fade while he could feel his reiryoku reserves standing on dangerous levels.

'_I..just a little longer!'_ he thought in desperation as he continued to pump in his reiryoku but he could feel himself losing it.

"**Here you are!**" a hollow yelled as it dashed towards Naruto whose eyes widened as he maintained his Sokatsui.

'_I won't be able to dodge!' _he thought in alarm as his kido faded with his both arms slumping down his sides as he panted heavily, beads dripping down his face.

"**GRRAAWWWRR!**" hearing the scream, Naruto closed his eyes as he cursed mentally.

"**Byakurai! **(White Lightning)" a familiar voice rang into his ears when he heard the hollow scream in pain.

Opening his eyes, he saw a foggy figure of Rangiku as she neared him.

"Naruto! You alright?" she asked frantically as he smiled faintly at her when his eyes began to close as his body began to fall forward while the reishi particles beneath his feet began to flicker in instability.

"Naruto!" she exclaimed before flash stepping to appear in front of him, catching his form. Grabbing him tightly, she again used several flash steps to escape the jet stream of hollows raining on them.

"R-Ran…" he murmured when she stopped a little distance from the creatures. Looking at him with concerned eyes, she gently wiped his sweaty forehead with her white sleeve while he clutched Haineko tightly in his hand.

'_If only I had my powers right now….if only Haineko was with me right now,'_ she thought in desperation before her eyes widened a bit.

'_Maybe…maybe if he thrusts Haineko back into my heart the way I did a month ago…maybe I'll get my powers back. But…no! It wouldn't work! He doesn't have reiryoku required to do it….in fact he doesn't have any reiryoku at all!'_

"Don't speak, everything will be alright. I'm sure Ayame-chan will be able to close those gates," she said softly making his oceanic blue eyes shift towards the air gates before they widened in shock.

Seeing the horror-filled expression on his face, Matsumoto turned her head upwards before her own sky blue orbs widened in terror.

"Oh no…please Kami no," she muttered to herself as her heart thumped in her chest.

Up there, the hollows had suddenly stopped coming through the kumon; but what really sent a chill down their spines was the large pitch black creatures entering through the air gates.

"G-Grande Menos….," Naruto whispered to himself in fear as two large hollows, entered through the two air gates- their loud howls echoing throughout Konoha.

**Hokage's Monument**

'_What's that sound? It's…horrible! What is that thing?" _Mikoto thought in a bit of fear as she gazed upwards at the large creature standing in the sky.

"Naruto-kun….," she trailed in worry, clutching his body tightly to herself.

**Konoha**

"Hokage-sama, what's that thing?" Kakashi asked in mild panic as they continued to fight with the left-over hollows, which still were pretty large in number.

'_A grande menos?'_ Hiruzen thought in shock when he considered the implications of the appearance of this large creature. Shinobi of his caliber along with jounin level ones could defeat these large hollows, but they couldn't do a thing when these creatures stood high into the sky- out of their range.

'_And if it shoots off a __**cero**__ (Hollow Flash) from there….,'_ the fire shadow's face paled as he imagined the disaster that would fall upon Konoha. Nothing would be left while every single civilian would be wiped out.

"Anko, what's that?" Kurenai asked with wide eyes as she killed another hollow while Anko looked up from her fighting before her eyes widened too.

'_That's….is that a menos that Naruto-kun told me about?'_ she thought while other jounins were busy in fending off the remaining hollows, but still almost everyone had noticed the two black giants up there in the sky.

**With Ayame**

'_What do I do? In my exhausted state, one grande menos would be heavy but two….it's impossible for me! Naruto-kun's down while Rangiku-chan doesn't have enough power to deal with these. Tou-san isn't here too! What…what can I do here?'_ Ayame thought in desperation and frustration as she clenched the hilt of Sazanami tightly, her eyes half lidded in her weakened condition, now standing some distance below the two menos. She was just about to reach the air gates when these two had to pop out- almost as if mocking their efforts.

She suddenly readied herself when one of them howled loudly, its pained scream echoing through the silent sky.

"W-What now?" she stuttered, panting heavily as the full moon shone upon her form. Her breathing hitched in her throat when both of them opened their white mouths.

"Oh hell….," she knew what was coming. They were in one hell of a danger.

Two large red orbs of spiritual energy began to form in both of their mouths as Ayame racked her brains on what to do. She knew that in her currently exhausted condition, chances of defending Konoha against one full-powered cero were slim, but two….

'_I don't have much reiryoku left, but still….I can stop only one cero, if that's even possible right now. I hope Konoha can handle a cero, it would most probably destroy half of the village….but we've got no choice. The civilians should've been evacuated by now, the shinobi down there can handle themselves. This is the only way, I have to make sure that I stop atleast one cero!'_ she thought in determination, still panting as Ayame began to build up her reiatsu while the large red orbs of cero got larger.

**With Naruto and Rangiku**

'_I have to warn everbody! The civilians should be safe, but the shinobi down there have to retreat away from the village!'_ Rangiku thought as she began to speak the incantation spell quietly, her eyes closed.

"**Bakudō no Shichijushichi-Tenteikūra! **(Way of Binding 77- Heavenly Rickshaws in Silken Air)" she muttered quietly, using the spell for the second time as again a rectangle opened in front of her while Naruto gazed at her with wide eyes.

"Rangiku-chan…w-what are you doing?" he asked in a raspy voice when she spoke.

"Everyone, Hiruzen-san, listen to me!" she started, speaking in normal volume while everyone could hear her voice telepathically now.

"Leave the village and retreat to higher grounds behind the Hokage's monument immediately! I repeat, leave the village and retreat to higher grounds behind the Hokage's monument quickly!" Naruto's eyes widened when he heard her. He immediately now understood why she was ordering everyone to do so.

'_It can't be…they're just accepting the fact that Konoha is going to be destroyed?'_ he thought in surprise, his pupil zooming out in shock as his hands began to shake in anxiety. His eyes slowly narrowed as a growl escaped his lips.

"Don't tell me that we're just going to sit here, leave the village and watch it being destroyed!" Matsumoto's eyes widened before they became half lidded in sadness as she gazed at his angry expression.

"That's the only logical action right now Naruto-kun. You're clearly in no shape to fight, and even Ayame-chan looks exhausted. As for me, I'm just….useless," averting her gaze, she bit her lower lip when he abruptly sat up making her look at him in surprise.

"How can you give up so easily? You're not useless!" he snapped, pushing himself to stand on his wobbly knees.

"Careful Naruto…what are you doing? Calm down," she said in a concerned tone as he lifted his zanpakutou, still panting but nevertheless; standing on his feet.

'_It's a wonder he can even stand now in this state,'_ she thought in surprise, gazing at him while he glared at her.

"How can I calm myself when everybody is just giving up and letting Konoha being destroyed!" he yelled, panting at the end to take in the necessary oxygen while she averted her gaze. She knew how he felt, but he was just acting on frustration and in the spur of the moment.

"A village can be built again Naruto-kun, we can't possibly stop two ceros at once," she spoke softly while the red orbs of energy continued to grow in size when the blonde swung his zanpakutou in denial.

"That's not the point! We can still stop it! Do you intend to say that every time an enemy attacks our village? Will you just evacuate the village and let them destroy our home again and again? I refuse to give up! I'll fight these monsters as long as I can and as long as I'm conscious!" he stated before dashing past her.

"Naruto!" Rangiku yelled when she flash stepped to follow him. She wanted to make sure he wouldn't do anything….suicidal. It was not the time for blind heroics right now.

'_He would only get himself killed like this!'_ Matsumoto thought in fear as she followed him, surprised that he still could go so fast.

'_I can't afford to lose him!'_ her mental thoughts raged on as if in slow motion as she followed him, intent on protecting him and preventing him from doing anything reckless.

**With Ayame**

'_Just a bit more….I'll give my everything in this. I just hope Konoha can handle one cero,' _Ayame thought as her Sazanami began to vibrate with a large amount of sky blue reiryoku being concentrated around it's tip while reishi (spirit particles) from around her (from nature) were gathering around the tip of her zanpakutou, adding to the strength of the pending attack.

**BOOM!**

**BHOOM!**

The two menos fired two large ceros one after another, one approaching Ayame's form while the other, not so far from the first one approached the village at lightning fast speeds with gravity supporting its motion.

'_Here it comes….,'_ she thought, her body working on pure adrenaline as she reared her reiryoku (dark blue now) charged zanpakutou slowly while the red cero blazed towards her.

Her body suddenly burst into sky blue reiryoku flames as she too used up every ounce of her spiritual energy left, wanting to give her all.

"**Hamon…**" she started, lifting Sazanami over her head.

"**Kai-….**" pouring every last bit of her reiryoku, her eyes closed in concentration as she yelled loudly before bringing Sazanami down in a vertical downward slash.

"**GEN! **(Hamon Kaigen- Spiritual Awakening of the Ripples)" a large wave of dark blue spiritual energy shot forth the tip of her zanpakutou as it bolted towards the incoming cero before….

_**BHWOOOM!**_

A THUNDEROUS blast filled the sky as the two attacks collided with each other while Ayame continued to hold her attack, which she could already feel weakening due to lack of reiryoku. The two attacks screeched into each other as they battled for dominance while Ayame could now feel her shoulder muscles trembling under the pressure.

'_I-It's no use! I…don't have any strength left!'_ she thought, her eyes closed as sweat poured down the side of her face in exertion. Her muscles were burning, she was at her limits!

Somehow finding the strength to turn her head, her eyes widened when she saw the second cero being opposed by some force. She couldn't see who was trying to stop it from up there, but feeling the spiritual energy…

'_This reiryoku….it's Naruto-kun! But wait…there's this another source, it's dark….'_

**With Naruto**

"Unnnnggghhhh!" his eyes were closed, Haineko being clutched by his both hands as he currently stood in a lock with the cero.

"Naruto stop it!" Rangiku yelled, she could see that the cero was easily overpowering him and it would be a matter of time before it would engulf him….if that happens…

'_No! I have to do something!'_ she thought, shaking her head as she bit her thumb, drawing blood in the process to calm herself down a bit. She had been in these kinds of situations before, but never once had she ever panicked. But seeing now Naruto's life in danger, her heart was thumping in her chest like crazy…she couldn't let anything happen to him, she just couldn't. The thought of losing clenched her heart in a very painful way!

'_I can't let him die….even if I have to risk my own life!'_ she thought decisively before looking up at the menos. Her eyes narrowed when she blurred out of there, flash stepping towards the large creature.

'_I'll kill the source instead! I'll just have to use __**Soren Sokatsui **__(Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down)!'_

"**Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flut-**" she abruptly stopped, even her body stopped when she felt something. Her eyes were currently widened as her pupils started trembling. She could feel something entering into her…something familiar.

"W-What…," she trailed when her form began to glow white as she gazed at her hands.

"What's going on….my reiryoku reserves are getting replenished," she stammered in confusion before her eyes widened upon spotting white reishi, which were combining with her coming from down there.

'_Naruto!'_ now she understood what was going on as an expression of panic settled on her face.

'_Oh no….if this happens now, he's gonna die!'_ without wasting any time, she began to flash step downwards towards the blonde.

Meanwhile, Naruto had his eyes closed as he felt himself losing consciousness.

'_I…can't give up…have to do something!'_ he thought, his muscles trembling while he gritted his teeth, the cero now overwhelming him.

CRACK!

His eyes snapped open when he heard a metallic sound.

CRRK!

'_What?'_

His pupil zoomed out in shock as cracks began to appear on Haineko while it began to glow white. Suddenly though, he felt himself being filled with another power…something dark.

'_This feeling….it's the same. This is what it felt back during the exams today!'_ he involuntary thought as felt himself getting stronger at fast rates. Red spiritual energy started to leak from his body while the cero continued to push him downwards.

'_This power….,'_ the blonde thought in shock as he closed his eyes when his body suddenly burst in red flames of reiryoku.

"Naruto, what's happening?" he heard Rangiku yell close to him but this feeling…..it was engulfing him, drowning his consciousness.

Matsumoto's eyes however widened when Haineko cracked completely as it turned to white reishi.

"GRRHHH!" Naruto exclaimed as he now struggled with the large cero bare handed.

'_Impossible!'_ she thought in astonishment while his features began to turn animalistic with his spiky locks turning thicker at the tips. His fangs now protruded out his mouth while his finger nails grew, even his whisker marks got thicker.

'_Naruto-kun, what's happening to you?'_ she thought perplexed, now stunned that he was actually pushing the cero back…and that too bare handed; where was he getting all this strength from.

"K-Kyuubi?" it suddenly clicked as the white reishi revolving around converged to form a normal sized katana- Haineko.

"**Grrrh!**" Naruto's voice now became demonic as he began pushing the cero back while red reiryoku flamed around his body.

'_I have to help him!'_ she thought, now lifting her returned zanpakutou. Just as she was about to release its shikai….

"**GRWAAARRGHH!**" Naruto growled loudly as he punched the beam of cero….yes, PUNCHED! The result was the cero recoiling at blundering speeds towards the menos while a red shockwave exuded out from the whiskered blonde.

"Agghh!" Matsumoto exclaimed as she was pushed back several meters.

'_Such power!'_ she thought in astonishment. Lifting her head, she was not so surprised to find the cero impact with the menos, shattering it's mask as it killed the giant creature. Turning her head back, she noticed Naruto standing there; panting heavily as the red energy began to recede back into him.

Now the reddish energy finally gone, his eyes- which earlier were crimson red with black slits-now returned to blue as he found himself losing consciousness. Just as he was about to fall, Matsumoto quickly shunpo'ed to support him, now noticing that his shinigami garb had disappeared leaving him in a standard white garb. In fact, she herself was dressed in a black garb- her powers had finally returned.

"Naruto-kun…hey, you okay?" she asked quickly as he smiled wearily at her making her sigh in relief.

'_Thank kami.'_

Shifting his gaze, his electric blue orbs widened a bit in confusion upon noticing a hooded shinigami coming towards them from up there- Ayame already unconscious in his arms while the other menos too looked to be destroyed

'_Huh…who is this guy? That reiryoku I'm feeling….he's definitely not oji-san…..'_ were his last thoughts before his heavy eyelids finally fell shut as he lost consciousness.

**Hope you guys liked this chapter and I really hope that the plot is moving well now. Don't worry for those being bored though, the main plot is just starting! And for those eagerly waiting for his own zanpakutou so that he could start kicking some ass- well have some fucking patience! We'll get to that part too. :D**

**So, PLEASE review and let me know you're reading this- though whether you're liking this or not, you tell me. :)**

**So see you next chapter! Ciao! **

**N6023**


	13. An Unexpected Visitor

**Hey guys! Here's the thirteenth chapter! **

**And thanks for your reviews, it makes me soooo happy. **_**'sniff'**_

**Now on with the chapter! :)**

**Chapter 13- An Unexpected Visitor**

"Naruto-kun...hey, you okay?" she asked quickly as he smiled wearily at her making her sigh in relief.

_'Thank Kami.'_

Shifting his gaze, his electric blue orbs widened a bit in confusion upon noticing a hooded shinigami coming towards them from up there- Ayame already unconscious in his arms while the other Menos too seemed to be taken care of.

_'Huh...who is this person? That reiryoku I'm feeling...he's definitely not oji-san...'_ were his last thoughts before his heavy eyelids finally fell shut as he lost consciousness.

Sensing a unfamiliar reiatsu above her, Matsumoto turned around to spot a black hooded figure approaching them with an unconscious Ayame.

_'Who is he?'_ she thought, her eyes narrowed as the blonde lieutenant grabbed the hilt of her sheathed zanpakutou.

_'Shinigami garb...hood...is this a guardian shinigami Teuchi-san was talking about?'_ she thought as the newly arrived shinigami landed in front of her on a reishi platform.

"Do not worry, I'm not your enemy," he spoke calmly in a baritone voice making her loosen up a bit.

"You're Matsumoto Rangiku right?" he asked making her eyes widen in surprise.

"Yeah, so what?" she asked, a frown on her face. He remained quiet, as if contemplating something while the two air gates above them had now been closed completely.

"Where is Ichiraku Teuchi? I can't sense his reiatsu," he stated in a neutral tone, gazing down towards Konoha.

"He's not here. I myself don't know where he is, but he's out of Konoha right now," she answered making him nod.

"Then I guess I have to stay here till he comes back," he said with a sigh.

"Are you a guardian shinigami?" she asked in curiosity.

"Yes, I am. Well atleast the Hokage's here. I wanted to meet him too," he uttered, confusing her as the hooded shinigami flash stepped out in a burst of reiatsu.

_'He's fast!'_ Rangiku thought as she followed the guardian shinigami with Naruto on her shoulder, surprised at his skill in Hoho.

_'Faster than even Sotaichi! (Captain Commander)'_

**Naruto's Mindscape- A Few Hours Later**

"Woooaah! Holy shit! This is huge!" exclaimed Naruto, an impressed expression on his face as the blonde found himself standing in front of a large cage. Currently he was staring at the large structure with an expression on awe on his face when he scratched the back of his head.

"Well atleast Konoha is safe now. But who was that guy?" he muttered to himself, a serious expression on his face when he noticed his small hand.

_'So I'm back in my original body again huh?' _he thought before lifting his head, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Yo! Come out now Kyuubi!" he yelled, a serious expression on his face when a dark booming chuckle filled the large chamber.

"**So you finally noticed me huh? I was thoroughly enjoying your stupid ramblings you brat**," a demonic voice resounded in the area while Naruto's heart beat quickened, being intimidated by the voice.

_'Calm down...I have to remain calm. As long as I don't go near this cage, I wouldn't be harmed. And that must be the seal up there which Mizuki was talking about,'_ he thought with a grim expression, pinching his forearm to keep himself in control. He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't scared. Hell he was close to shitting himself!

But after training for a month under Teuchi, Ayame, Rangiku, Anko and the way he lived his childhood, fortunately he was atleast able to stand in front of this bijuu with an unwavering expression on his face.

"**How did you know it was me behind this cage?**"it asked, amusement in its voice while Naruto found the strength to smirk.

"The moment I got here, I could feel your dark reiatsu as well as that chakra of yours which I had sensed earlier today...so it was not much of a mystery. Besides your pathetic attempts at scaring me with your excess of chakra spelled it to me," he uttered in a loud voice, silence filling the area.

"**You do not fear me?**" the tailed beast asked as the whiskered blonde clenched his fist.

"Of course I fear you," he muttered with a sigh but the bijuu had clearly heard him. His eyes though widened when Kyuubi leaned forward, its sharp razor teeth on full display with the beast currently staring at the blonde with its demonic red eyes.

"**For a puny little disgusting human, you sure are interesting. Tell me, what would you achieve by admitting that you fear me? Shouldn't you rather try to be brave and all?**," it growled making Naruto's lips curl downwards as he lifted his hand. Kyuubi's eyes widened a bit as it gazed at the tiny hand which was shaking.

"See? I can't stop the shaking. And I'd rather face my fears instead of running from them. That's something I've learned!" he spoke as the beast kept quiet this time.

"Why did you interfere today?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"**Ahh...so you're talking about what happened during your exams right?**"

"Yes."

"**Simple, I wanted to mentally destroy you and make you unstable. I wanted you to fail the exam which you worked so hard for so that you lose control, possibly weakening the seal and thus creating a way for me to get out**," it spoke while Naruto found himself blinking in surprise.

"Are you an idiot? Why did you tell me all that?" he asked, taken aback by this beast who now chuckled at the blonde's dumbfounded expression.

"**If you can be honest with me, then I can be honest with you too ningen. Now come near the cage**," it's voice reverberating through the whiskered blonde's ears as he stood his ground, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Now why would I do that?"

"**So that I can kill you!**" it answered in demonic glee making the blonde sweatdrop.

_'What a nutjob...Okay, this is completely weird! Kyuubi is supposed to be a blood thirsty monster with an unlimited appetite for twerps like me. Wait...did I call myself a twerp?'_

"**I see you've become a shinigami**," the bijuu verbalized, its tone suddenly serious making the blonde look at him with a sedate expression.

"What's it to you then?"

"**Just informing you that you've become the one who I HATE the MOST in all dimensions!**" it growled in anger, waves of red chakra exuding out from the cage while Naruto's eyes widened at the proclamation. This time there was no amusement in the bijuu's voice, pure anger and hatred filling the area.

Clenching his fists, Naruto gritted his teeth as he yelled back.

"That's the statement I should be saying you furball! My life was destroyed because of you!" an angry expression on his face.

**WHAM!**

"**If I could get out of this pathetic cage, the first thing I would do is rip apart that annoying throat of yours!**" it roared, slamming its claw against the large steel bars, startling Naruto as he jumped back a bit.

Regaining his footing, a surge of anger flooded the jinchuriki's system as he growled at the tailed beast.

"Now listen here you pathetic excuse for a fox, I don't give a shit about who you hate or not! I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING TO YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE!" he fired back, now small streaks of lightning surrounding his lower legs, creating ripples amongst the water.

Kyuubi however was taken aback by the blonde's outburst, especially the strange lightning around his feet. If anyone else would've been in the area, they would've felt a tremendous pressure on their bodies due to a spike in Naruto's reiatsu. However, since the beast had unrivalled amounts of chakra- which led to high amounts of spiritual energy easily about six times the amount possessed by an experienced shinigami captain; it was not a surprise that it couldn't feel the blonde's reiatsu. Naruto's current reiryoku level was very small compared to the Kyuubi's after all.

"You're just like those idiots out there too! Hating me for idiotic reasons! You just have to find someone to vent your anger and frustrations on don't you? It's not my damn fault that you attacked Konoha twelve years ago and got sealed in a nameless orphan like me! You hate me just because I'm your jailor! Why don't you try and hate the Yondaime who sealed you in the first place?" he spat bitterly, venting his own anger out on the sealed bijuu inside of him. The blonde may act all cheery and positive out there, but everyone had darkness. Throwing out your anger and frustrations on a sealed beast inside of you wasn't such a bad idea.

Naruto was currently panting a bit while his fists were still shaking in anger; all fear for the intimidating and a mythical creature in front of him now forgotten.

"At first I was considering the possibility of us getting along with each other! That maybe we could be friends! But just forget it! Now rot in this locked place and don't interfere in my life from now on! BADBYE!"

Turning on his foot, the blonde walked off from the area, grumbling all the way to himself while Kyuubi just laid there in the cage silently.

A few seconds later, Naruto came back walking, an embarrassed blush on his face.

"How do you get out of this sewer anyway?" the blonde asked, his eyebrows twitching in irritation while the bijuu remained silent in the darkness.

"**You're both a shinigami and a human**," it uttered in a solemn tone making the whiskered blonde sigh in exasperation.

"I didn't know that, thanks for telling me. Now tell me, how do I get out of here?"

"**I hate humans**."

"Congratulations then. You get a cup of instant ramen for that...hmm, I wonder if there's a hole up there," he mused loudly to himself, staring up at the ceiling.

"**I hate shinigami even more than humans**."

"Yeah yeah, good for y- what?" Naruto blinked as he turned his head towards the bijuu, who currently had its eyes closed as it laid there in the cage lazily.

"Now why would you hate the shinigami? Do you even know them?" a skeptical expression on his face when the bijuu snorted, shaking the surface itself.

"**You don't have any idea brat. And the fact that you're a shinigami as well as a mere human makes your presence disgusting to me and hate you all the more**," it spoke calmly this time, its voice demonic while Naruto sighed.

"I don't care if you hate me. Why do you hate the shinigami anyway? What have they done to you?"

"**Besides sealing me in a runt like you? Yes, we share a lot of history**."

"And I presume you wouldn't tell me?"

"**Oh, so you can think after all,**" Kyuubi uttered in a lazy tone making a vein pop on the blonde's forehead.

_'This bastard really annoys me to no end.'_

"Fine then, keep laying there you stupid fox," he muttered as the blonde walked towards the side wall before sitting with his back against it.

_'I lost my consciousness back then. So I guess I should return to the real world when I wake up,' _he thought, a bored expression on his face.

"**And what's this ramen you keep talking about?**"

**Konoha: The Day Following the Hollow Invasion Night: 6:00 AM: Forests Behind the Hokage's Monument**

Currently we find Mikoto laying on the ground unconscious, Naruto's body tightly clutched in her arms. Suddenly her eyebrows then scrunched down a bit while her eyelids slowly lifted.

She put her arm over her forehead, taking off a leaf as she shifted a bit.

_'Where...am I?' _was the first thing she thought, clearing a strand of her black hair from her face when she noticed a body tightly clutched to her chest.

_'Naruto?'_ she questioned inwardly.

**Hokage's Office**

"Hokage-sama, sector 3A has been cleared of any casualties and admitted into the hospital. We are however still stuck on the Asagohan district, but should be done within a couple of hours!" a chunin reported while Hiruzen sat in his chair, a tired look on his face.

"I see, you can leave now Asoko-san," he muttered, taking a puff of his pipe as he turned his chair around, staring at the village being reconstructed through the window.

Last night, after those air gates had been sealed, the first thing in Hiruzen's mind was to straight away use the Kakeisoushinki- a device much powerful than the generic Kinkanshinki and which is used by the guardian shinigami to remove the memories of living humans on a large scale. The professor didn't want to face any questions from the shinobi or the civilians alike, so his plan was to immediately remove their memories and just tell them that it was another hollow attack which had been taken care of by the hollow hunters he had hired. But to the Hokage's dilemma, Teuchi was out of the village while Ayame- another person who knew where the device was hidden by her father and how to use it, was unconscious.

However, fortunately, a guardian shinigami had arrived- killing the last remaining hollow immediately without so much as an effort. He still remembered the way that shinigami from the spirit king's realm had handled a cero by that Menos bare handedly, deflecting it without much effort. Though the downside of that stunt was that the weakened cero had hit the Hokage's monument- dealing some serious damage.

_'Well atleast now everyone's memories of what really happened last night have been removed. They just think that it was another hollow attack, albeit a grave one this time which has caused some damage to the village,'_ he pondered, rubbing his eyes as a yawn escaped his lips.

_'Teuchi-san should be arriving today though...I wonder if he found what we need here, especially now considering Rangiku-san's shinigami powers have returned. And then there's this new guardian shinigami,'_ he further thought, now remembering his meeting with that man.

**Flashback: The Previous Night: Ichiraku's Apartment: 3 AM**

"So you're the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato?" the shinigami asked in a contemplative tone, now standing in the living room with Hiruzen in front of him, a serious expression on his face.

"I see you have trouble digesting that. Don't go with my appearance shinigami-san," the professor spoke in a sharp tone.

"It doesn't matter to me Hokage-san. We're not allowed to interfere in human lives," he uttered making the old kage nod.

"So, I presume the spirit king has sent you?" Sarutobi asked with a grim expression making the unknown shinigami nod.

"Yes. The spirit king, has been noticing the strange occurrences and disturbances around Konoha. So in response to this, he has sent me here as the secondary in-command shinigami of Konoha," the mysterious man verbalized making the Hokage's eyebrows lift in confusion.

"What do you mean by secondary? Will Teuchi-san remain as the shinigami for Konoha?"

"Hai. Substitute guardian shinigami Ichiraku Teuchi, like before, is to follow his duties as the official guardian shinigami of Konoha. I'm you can say, a backup if anything big happens here. Lately we've been sensing a lot of reiryoku coming from this village," he explained.

_'It must be because of the sudden increase in the number of hollows and Naruto's own growing reiryoku,'_ Hiruzen thought with a solemn expression on his face.

"So when is Teuchi-san going to arrive?"

"He should be here by tomorrow afternoon," Sarutobi replied when the door to the bedroom opened.

"They should be alright now. Ayame-chan is just exhausted because of using so much of her reiryoku...the same is the case with Naruto-kun," Matsumoto spoke with a sigh, a weary expression on her face as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Before Hiruzen could speak anything, the hooded shinigami intervened.

"You aren't from this dimension are you? And nor are you from the Spirit Society," he stated while the blonde lieutenant stared at him seriously.

_'Spirit Society?' _she thought in confusion.

"I'm an exiled former vice-captain of the tenth division of Seireitei in Soul Society- Matsumoto Rangiku," she stated making Hiruzen look at her in surprise while she kept staring at him.

_'Why is she lying?'_ he thought, befuddled by her answer.

"Soul Society? Why would Soul Society flush out its members in this dimension, they don't have the rights to do so," he articulated making the blonde clench her fists.

"It was not intentional. They wanted to-"

"That's enough Matsumoto-san. We shinigami of the spirit society have no business with the affairs of the Soul Society. It's not the first time that a shinigami from Soul Society has ended up in this dimension after all. As long as you don't create much trouble and assist Teuchi-san in his duties, it should be okay," he explained, gazing at the blonde through the darkness of his hood while Hiruzen understood the indirect reference to Teuchi.

"Hokage-san, I'll be taking my leave. As soon as Teuchi-san arrives, I would contact him," the shinigami said in a neutral tone when Hiruzen spoke suddenly.

"I wanted to ask you something shinigami-san."

"What is it Hokage-san?"

"Since now you're also a shinigami of Konoha and considering Teuchi-san is out of the village, I wanted your help," he vocalized while the shinigami kept quiet whereas Matsumoto wondered what the Hokage needed.

"As you earlier saw, all the shinobi of my village were actively fighting those hollows and we had no choice but to fight together. So I wanted you to use Kakeisoushinki on the entire village," the sandaime Hokage verbalized making Rangiku's eyes widen.

"What about Teuchi-san's daughter, Ichiraku Ayame? Can't she use it at a later time?" the guardian shinigami asked.

"Well she can use it, but you already know that she's unconscious and would take some time to recover. Moreover, it would be dangerous if the whole of Konoha is left free with the knowledge of the secrets of the afterlife. And I'm sure that some of them would've deciphered Ichiraku Ayame's and Uzumaku Naruto's true identities," he said with a grave expression on his face making the shinigami sigh.

"Fine, I guess I have to do it. However, make sure that you form a barrier around this apartment or else the device will affect you too," he warned before blurring from the duo's sight via shunpo.

"I guess the barriers made up of chakra would be useless against the Kakeisoushinki?" the sandaime asked Rangiku, a curious look in his eyes making her nod.

"Yeah, we have to use kido in this," she answered making him nod when he realized something.

"Where's Anko? She's here right?" he asked making her nod.

"Hai, she's sleeping in the guest room," the blonde lieutenant verbalized making him sigh in relief.

'_It would've been a pain to tell her everything again. Moreover, Naruto-kun definitely would've leashed out on me.'_

"I'll go and put a barrier in place. My powers have fully returned, so it shouldn't be much of a sweat," Matsumoto informed Hiruzen making him nod.

**Flashback Ends**

'_I really do wonder…why would Rangiku lie to that shinigami? Why did she say that she was a former vice-captain? I have a feeling that it's related to Naruto-kun somehow….both of them have been grown close considerably during the last month. Even Ayame-san seems to have a crush on him, and so does Rangiku-san. Well, all the better for him….finally someone who likes him for the person he is,'_ he thought with a warm smile, the first set of sunrays lifting from the horizon.

"Hokage-sama…."

'_This just doesn't end,' _the Hokage thought with a sigh as he turned his chair around to face Kakashi standing in front of his table, a serious expression on the jounin's face.

"What is it Kakashi? I thought that you would be sleeping at this time, especially after what happened last night," he stated making the jounin sigh.

"It's just that….well I can't sleep. My head hurts a bit and I've been feeling anxious since last night," he elaborated making the Hokage narrow his eyes.

'_That might be a side effect of Kakeisoushinki.'_

"It's like last night was a dream….no, like a blank. I just can't remember anything. In fact, I don't remember when the hollows even arrived. I asked a few others, and they seemed to be having the same problem. I don't know what's going on? Why can't we remember anything?" the copy ninja asked, exhaustion clearly noticeable in his tone.

"As I told you before Kakashi, these hollows are very dangerous creatures. Even I, who has fought them numerous times during the Second Great Shinobi War, do not know all of their abilities. In fact, I too have been experiencing a headache and anxiousness since last night….and it is definitely possible after the nightmare we have faced the previous night. Orochimaru….no, it has to be something bigger which is responsible for this. Orochimaru can't possibly do this alone," Sarutobi explained with a grim expression, his hands massaging is temples while Kakashi too seemed to be contemplating over something.

"I don't know Hokage-sama, but all of this seems too fishy. And I've been meaning to ask you this, is one of those hollow hunters a jinchuriki? I have noticed red chakra flowing through him several times with my Sharingan, even if it is in small amounts," the jounin articulated while the professor inhaled sharply, not expecting this question.

"I see, it seems one of them is a jinchuriki then. Listen Kakashi, these hollow hunters….they are absolutely strict when it comes to their identities. No one knows who they are, what their history is or even their face. So I don't know anything personal about them and they make sure that no one knows. However, they are professional in their work and don't pry in our personal matters too. For them, it doesn't matter who is responsible for these growing hollow attacks or what is happening in our village. You pay them, and they do their job- it's strictly professional. And they wouldn't appreciate if someone gets in their line of work, and you should get the point too Kakashi. Don't try to get in their way, these hunters are dangerous and may just be even stronger than me," this made the copy ninja's eyes widen a bit in surprise.

"Aren't you taking a big risk then Hokage-sama?" he asked in confusion making Sarutobi sigh.

"As I told you before, no one really knows what these hollows are capable of. Heck, we ninja can't even see them. And you might've already figured out that these hunters use something different than chakra, they know some secret techniques required to counter these hollows. We shinobi can't fight something we can't see, even the great doujutsus like the Sharingan and Byakugan are useless against these hollows," the Kami no shinobi muttered when the door was knocked.

"Enter"

"Hokage-sama, Mikoto-sama is here to meet you," a chunin told Hiruzen, catching his attention.

'_Mikoto? Of course!'_

"Send her in."

'_She was on the Hokage's monument with Naruto's body the last time I saw her. So when that cero beam hit the monument, she must have been blown back by the huge impact. And I guess she was unconscious all night with Naruto's body with her. That's why Rangiku-san couldn't find his body last night. I hope she has returned with Naruto's real body now though. Although currently that boy is in a gigai right now, but we definitely don't want to lose his real body. We have to be careful from now on. I have to ask Teuchi-san to give him one of those soul replicating pills, that would do the job,'_ he mulled over with a grave expression.

**Several Hours Later: Ichiraku's Apartment: 12 PM**

'_I can't believe my powers have finally returned. It has only been a month since I lost them, but yet it feels so long,'_ Matsumoto thought, rubbing the hilt of her zanpakutou when she felt a surge of reiatsu from the katana making her smile warmly.

'_Yeah, it's good to see you too Haineko,'_ she thought before averting her gaze to a form lying on the bed, beside which she was sitting on a chair. Her smile faded while her eyes grew soft as she gazed at the unconscious form of Naruto- currently in a gigai of his twelve year old body. Behind her, beside Naruto's bed was another bed on which an unconscious Ayame was currently lying.

Lifting her hand, Rangiku began to rub his cheek gently, a fond smile on her face as she stared at the peaceful expression on his face.

'_He looks so cute,'_ an involuntary thought passed her mind as she kept smiling, her hand now moving to his forehead. Her smile faded when she realized something- she hadn't talked to Naruto about the graduation exams yet and he hadn't spoken to her about it too; well they didn't get the time to do so anyway. But still, she knew that he must be devastated to fail his exams even after the whiskered blonde had trained so hard during the month. However, she also couldn't understand as to how he could've failed to form a simple shadow clone which had become his signature ninjutsu during the month.

'_Hiruzen-san told me that Kyuubi had interfered in the execution of the technique at the time of the exams. But how is that possible? If that bijuu is sealed in Naruto-kun, no way it should be able to influence him. This just doesn't make any sense. Hiruzen-san told me that Naruto only accessed Kyuubi's chakra when he was very angry, was emotionally unstable or when he was about to die…but these weren't the cases yesterday, so why did it happen?'_ she contemplated, now running her hand slowly through his spiky blonde locks.

Currently Rangiku-san was alone in the Ichiraku's apartment, watching over the unconscious duo while Hiruzen was attending to his duties as the Hokage. Anko too had earlier left the apartment as the Hokage had a mission for her.

'_And I guess that we would have to start training him for his own shinigami powers. I don't know how Teuchi-san plans to do that though. Awakening one's shinigami powers takes years of practice and reiryoku control, that's the purprose of Shino academy in Seireitei after all. But to awaken Naruto-kun's shinigami powers in a day or two, that just seems impossible to me. But who knows…maybe they'll throw in some ninja techniques or something like that.'_

Few minutes passed as Matsumoto kept ruminating about what had happened the previous night, any possible reason as to why so much hollows were attacking Konoha. The situation had become so much alarming that the spirit king had to assign a guardian shinigami- most probably stronger than an experienced captain of Seireitei, for Konoha. Now Teuchi and him have to work with each other to tackle this increasing problem. Things were really heating up in this dimension- and seemingly for no possible reason at all.

Rangiku's lips though curled down when she remembered Ayame's outburst yesterday night.

"_You don't need to tell me that! I've known him much longer than you!"_

Why did she said that? Rangiku was confused. Had she done something wrong to offend Ayame? Or could it be that Ayame had just yelled in frustration because of the situation back then.

'_But…in situations like these, a person speaks from his heart. So Ayame was holding this inside her all the time? Is she….I can't help but sense that she was jealous back then. After I said that I had known Naruto-kun for a month, she had snapped at me….as if telling me that I was an unwanted intruder. As if….as if I was coming between her and Naruto?'_ she pondered with a sad expression on her face. Could it be that Ayame had feelings for Naruto just like her?

Clearly Matsumoto found herself affected by this. She didn't like it one bit. Both her and Ayame had become good friends with each other, she didn't want it to be ruined.

'_I have to ask Ayame-chan if something's wrong.'_

However, Matsumoto didn't know what she was supposed to do if Ayame too had a crush on Naruto. Rangiku just couldn't leave it like that….she couldn't just give Naruto to her. Even unknown to her, her feelings had grown really strong for the whiskered blonde. Last night….last night, he was so cool! The way he had created so many shinigami clones by using the shadow clones, it was an ingenious idea! The way he was willing to put his life on the line for Konoha….a village which had given him nothing but sadness, pain and suffering, it was unreal!

She couldn't help but like him more. Living with him for a month, each day under the same roof made her fell for him more deeply than before. His smile, it was damn infectious! His bright blue eyes, they were so expressive and majestic in their appearance. His sun kissed blonde hair and those cute whisker marks were just an icing on the cake. Why did he have to be so perfect? Anything he did, he made himself more attractive to her- when he smiled, when he shouted in frustration, his silly antics and pranks, the sudden serious aura that would exude out of him when it came to training, his last second improvisation on the battlefield, even when he cried in front of her. Besides her heart being clenched to see him sad, it also made her feel warm inside that Naruto, who had problem trusting others- had opened his heart to her. He would often open himself to her, telling her even the tiniest of his problems. They would often talk with each other for hours at night, telling each other of how their day went. It was like a dream to her, the time she had spent with him, they laughed with each other, they ate with each other, they enjoyed each other's company so much. The past month had been the best time of her life as far as she could remember.

"SHUT UP YOU FURBALL!"

"Kyah!" Matsumoto exclaimed in surprise as she fell off her chair, Haineko falling on the floor while Naruto sat there on the bed, an irritated expression on his face which soon turned into that of confusion as he noticed his surroundings.

"Huh? Where'd that idiot go?" Naruto spoke in bewilderment when his eyes fell on Matsumoto, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Oh Rangiku-chan…how are you? I didn't scare you did I?" the whiskered asked with a sheepish grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his head when an uncomfortable expression formed on his face.

"And why does my body feel strange? Please don't tell this is a gigai! Where's my rea- eh?" the blonde jinchuriki suddenly exclaimed in confusion when he was tightly hugged by Matsumoto.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed in happiness, her arms wrapped around his neck while Naruto had an awkward look on his face. However, hearing her ecstatic voice, his lips curled upwards, a dark blush on his face as her assets pressed onto his chest. He could never get used to her hugs, even after frequently getting them from her during the month, the feeling of her….breasts pressed against him always made the blonde light headed.

She pulled back to smile at him brightly making the blonde laugh.

"Aww…are you blushing again Naruto-kun?" she teased with a grin, pinching his cheeks gently making him sputter a bit as he averted his eyes, now noticing Ayame laying there; a blanket covering her.

"Ayame-chan? What happened to her? Is she alright?" he asked in panicked concern, his expression taking a one-eighty turn making Matsumoto's eyes soften.

'_He does care a lot about her.'_

"She's alright Naruto-kun….don't worry, she passed out from exhaustion just like you," the blonde lieutenant replied making him sigh in relief.

'_Thank kami!'_

"So, why did you suddenly burst like that? You were fighting a furball?" she asked in amusement making him pout.

'_I don't feel like telling her that I know about the Kyuubi. I'll speak to her about his later,'_ he thought decisively.

"So we saved Konoha huh?" he suddenly asked out of nowhere making Rangiku look at him in surprise as he smiled in pride.

"We did save the village from those hollows, right Rangiku-chan?" he asked with a small smile making her smile softly at him.

"Hai…you saved Konoha Naruto-kun. With your die hard efforts and unwillingness to give up, Konoha is still standing," she said encouragingly to him making him shake his head as the twelve year old chuckled.

"No…not me, US. Me, you, Ayame-chan, jiji….everybody fought. All of us saved the village together," he corrected with a smile making Matsumoto stare at him in wonder.

'_How?'_ Just….what was this twelve year kid made of? Was Kami the happiest being alive when she created this human?

"But still…." she started with a sigh, her lips curling down, "I wish we didn't need to erase their memories and that they would know that you were the one who saved their sorry asses! Then they would know better than to insult you. You should be practically hailed as the hero of this village!" she exclaimed with a frown making him smile, his true smile.

"Arigatou Rangiku-chan…the fact that you alone think so means so much for me," he spoke honestly with his heart making the blonde lieutenant's eyes widen as she blushed cutely, her cheeks being tinted pink. However, our whiskered blonde, as usual remained clueless.

"But don't you worry! As long as I can protect Konoha, it doesn't matter to me! My precious people know my true strength, you guys recognize me! That's enough for me. But one day they will recognize me and will see me for the cool person I am!" he spoke loudly with his foxy grin as Rangiku blinked at him. Naruto's grin faltered when he noticed her staring at him.

"Um….I am cool, right Rangiku-chan?" he asked in nervousness when she suddenly burst in giggles making him stare at her as he glared playfully at her.

"Y-Yeah…you're a cool person Naruto-kun," she spoke in between her fits while the blonde jinchuriki smiled at the sight of her laughing heartily.

"A very hot cool person," Matsumoto spoke in a sultry voice, winking at Naruto. The result was as expected- his whole face turned tomato red in color as he began to sputter in embarrassment making her giggle at his expense.

"Sh-Shut up!" he exclaimed, abruptly standing up as the whiskered blonde jumped from the bed.

THUP!

Rangiku continued to giggle as she clutched her stomach, Naruto already having left the room.

'_Oh how I love that innocence of yours Naruto-kun,'_ she thought with a smile, wiping a tear from her eye when suddenly her eyes widened as she sensed something.

'_This reiatsu….'_ she thought in realization, when the door was opened as Naruto skidded in, his eyes wide.

"It's oji-san isn't it?" he asked making her nod with a serious expression on her face. Immediately shutting the door, Naruto removed the fake tile from the floor besides Ayame's bed.

"Well he could've waited a bit, I'm hungry," Naruto grumbled, now standing in front of the square hole when Matsumoto put her head on his shoulder.

"Say, I'll cook your ramen for you after this?" she offered with a smile making his eyes wide as he grinned over his shoulder.

"Heh! You're the best Rangiku-chan! Now let's go and welcome the old man, we have a lot to tell him!" he uttered before jumping in followed by Matsumoto.

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber**

Currently we find both of them dashing towards the large dimensional gate created by Teuchi, Rangiku in her shinigami form while Naruto was still in his gigai.

"Hey! Oji-san!" Naruto yelled with a smile, both of them now standing in front of the gate. Currently a circular rip was widening inside the wooden posts which formed the gateway- white light emitting from it when suddenly their eyes widened.

'_There are two people coming! Who's the other one?'_ both of them thought simultaneously.

"Ah…home sweet home!" Naruto's eyebrows lifted as he smiled brightly at the shinigami ramen chef who had just entered through the rip.

"So how's it going you two?" Teuchi asked with a smile making Naruto grin at him while Rangiku had a confused expression on her face as she stared at something behind Teuchi, into the white glowing rip.

"Ah…you must have already sensed another one huh? Well let me introduce you to a close friend of mine," Teuchi verbalized with a smile as a figure stepped in, the rip now closing behind him.

"Meet Urahara Kisuke," he spoke making Matsumoto's eyes widen in shock as the blonde haired man smiled at the duo, his eyes being shadowed by his hat, a cane in his right hand.

"Ah, I'm flattered you think so highly of me Teuchi," Kisuke chuckled as he lifted his head, smiling at the duo.

"It's nice to meet you Matsumoto-san, Uzumaki-san."

**CLIFFY-CHWAAAN! Here it is, the plot's heating up. I hope you guys liked this chapter. :D**

**And please review people. I'd really appreciate your current feedbacks on the story so far. **_**'yawn' **_**My eyelids are getting heavy, its 5 AM. Gotta sleep! **

**Again, please review and take care! See you next time! :D**

**N6023**


	14. Revelations!

**Hey guy! It's good to be back! :)**

**And thanks for your supporting reviews and helpful criticisms. Without anything else to say, here's the next chapter-**

**Chapter-14- Revelations!**

"Ah…home sweet home!" Naruto's eyebrows lifted in delight as he smiled brightly at the shinigami ramen chef who had just entered through the rip.

"So how's it going you two?" Teuchi asked with a smile making Naruto grin at him while Rangiku had a confused expression on her face as she stared at something behind Teuchi, into the white glowing rip.

"Ah…you must have already sensed another one huh? Well let me introduce you to a close friend of mine," Teuchi verbalized with a smile as a figure stepped in, the rip now closing behind him.

"Meet Urahara Kisuke, he spoke making Matsumoto's eyes widen in shock as the blonde haired man smiled at the duo, his eyes being shadowed by his hat, a cane in his right hand.

"Ah, I'm flattered you think so highly of me Teuchi," Kisuke chuckled as he lifted his head, smiling at the duo.

"It's nice to meet you Matsumoto-san, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto stared at the pale blonde haired man in front of him, an awkward expression on his face when Teuchi stepped on his left foot.

"Ow!" the whiskered blonde exclaimed as he glared at Teuchi who laughed threateningly at him.

"Now now Naruto...you don't have to stare at our guest like that," the ramen chef spoke making the blonde grumble as he turned his head to smile at Kisuke.

"Um...it's nice to meet you Urahara-san," he uttered with a light bow making Kisuke smile at him. Rangiku however, had a frown on her face as she gazed at the man in front of her.

"Teuchi-san, don't you know who this man is?" she asked in a hostile tone making Naruto look at her in confusion while Kisuke's expression suddenly became serious.

"Of course he knows Matsumoto-san. I am _the _Urahara Kisuke, exiled former captain of twelfth division as well as the founder of Shinigami Research and Development Institute," Urahara muttered behind his fan, covering his face up mysteriously with his bucket hat shadowing his eyes. Naruto however was shocked upon hearing this.

"C-Captain...a former captain? Why were you exiled?" he asked when Rangiku answered in a solemn tone.

"He was responsible for illegally experimenting on his fellow shinigami to achieve hollowfication," the blonde lieutenant verbalized making his eyes widen.

"That's enough Rangiku-san!" Teuchi intervened with a stern voice making Matsumoto look at him in mild surprise.

"What you were told in Seireitei was what they thought was the truth, what Yamamoto and the central 46 were made to think."

"Made to think?" Rangiku asked, raising her eyebrow while Naruto just stayed quiet along with Urahara, who currently was staring at the guardian shinigami standing a little distance away from the group in curiosity.

"I'll explain to you later Rangiku-san. But for now, just know that Kisuke here was framed and he was not the one responsible for those experiments. Besides, this dimension does not come under the jurisdiction of Soul Society, so I'd advise you not to bring the matters of Soul Society here. Isn't that right shinigami-san?" Teuchi said, turning to the hooded shinigami standing away from them.

"Finally noticed me huh Ichiraku-san? Well anyway, I don't have any business in your personal matters. I just came here to relay an important message from the Spirit Society," the unknown shinigami spoke making Teuchi nod while Kisuke turned around to close the dimensional gate.

"I see...Naruto, Rangiku-san, you two go up there and wait for us," the Ichiraku articulated making Naruto nod while Rangiku was still uncomfortable around Kisuke.

"Let's go Rangiku-chan," the jinchuriki mumbled as he turned around to leave, grabbing Matsumoto's hand to pull her along with him.

"My my...that's a whole lot of hollow reiryoku around here, what happened?" Kisuke whistled, gazing upwards while Naruto's eyes widened as he stopped walking.

"Naruto...Rangiku-san's powers have returned to her right?" Teuchi asked with a serious expression, having sensed Matsumoto's increased reiatsu when the blonde duo nodded making him sigh.

"Well that makes our work easier...you can go now," he stated when Matsumoto flash stepped out of the arena along with Naruto.

**Ichiraku's Apartment-With Rangiku and Naruto**

"Rangiku-chan, are you alright?" Naruto asked in concern, currently bent down to Rangiku's level who was sitting on the couch. She smiled at his concerned expression, her heart warming at the fact that he had immediately sensed her discomfort- he just knew her so well.

"Well...that guy, Urahara Kisuke...I just don't trust him," she spoke with a frown when he sighed. Standing up, he went to the dining table to pick up the black glove with a white skull on it.

CRSHOOF!

"Ah...that's better!" he exclaimed quietly, swinging his arm to open up his stiff muscles. Rangiku stared at the adult Naruto in confusion, who currently was dressed in a white kimono- an indication of him no longer being a shinigami. Noticing her staring at him in confusion, he grinned sheepishly at her while rubbing the back of his head.

"Ahehe, well gigai are just so damn uncomfortable," he spoke making her chuckle to herself.

"I liked black better," Naruto commented with a sigh upon noticing his white kimono.

"Remember Teuchi-san told us that when you lose your shinigami powers given by me, he would train you to awaken your own shinigami powers?" Rangiku reminded him with a smile making him grin widely.

"Of course I do! Although I was sad the previous night that finally Haineko-chan was returning to you, still she was the one who was encouraging me to give my all when I blocked that cero," he uttered before losing his grin when he realized what he had said.

'_Shit!'_

"Y-You...came in contact with Haineko?" Matsumoto asked in disbelief making him sweat bullets.

"Uh...um..." no words came out of his mouth when she narrowed her eyes.

"Since when?" she asked, her voice having a certain edge to it making him sigh. Well, there was no use hiding it anymore.

"Almost a week ago when I was training in my shinigami form," he answered making Rangiku's scowl deepen.

"Why didn't you tell me that you could contact it?"she asked with a serious expression making him sigh.

"I...I thought you would freak out or something. I was not supposed to contact a foreign zanpakutou spirit in the first place, and somehow it just happened. Moreover, I didn't want to burde-"

"Naruto..." she called making him look at her, surprised for she rarely used his name without the honorific.

"We've been staying with each other for a month, sharing all of our secrets and life events with each other...why couldn't you tell me? Do you not trust me enough? Were you afraid that I would think that kyuubi was influencing you and start fearing you or something?" at this, Naruto's eyes widened a bit making her sigh.

"So you were thinking like this huh?" she asked, her tone holding sadness making Naruto's lips curl downwards.

"Rangiku-chan..." his voice trailed when she turned to him, a hurt expression on her face. Just when she was about to say something, the door to the bedroom opened as Teuchi and Kisuke came out, the guardian shinigami not present. Teuchi however had a concerned expression on his face.

"Ayame-chan...what happened to her that she had to exhaust so much of her reiryoku?" the old shinigami asked as Rangiku was staring at the floor, still sitting on the couch when Naruto spoke with a sigh, knowing that he would have to tell the Ichiraku sooner or later.

"Well...I'll just tell you as to what happened yesterday Oji-san."

**Several Minutes Later**

"Hmm...this is not good, definitely not good," Kisuke spoke with a grave expression, surprising Naruto that how quickly he could turn from jovial to a serious person.

"These events...this rarely happens. Hollows in that quantity, it is extremely rare in this dimension. What is going on in Hueco Mundo?" Teuchi mumbled to himself making Naruto's eyes widen, currently sitting on the couch with Rangiku while the Ichiraku and Kisuke were sitting around the table.

"Rare? You said rare...does this mean that this has happened before?" the whiskered blonde asked making Kisuke sigh.

"Well, a similar event took place during the second great shinobi war. During wars, it is normal for some strong hollows to slip in here in this dimension due to them sensing large amount of spiritual energy. And as you know, shinobi during wars use chakra, lots of it. To use chakra, they build lots of chakra obviously, meaning increasing their reiryoku levels along with physical energy. This happens on a massive scale and hence hollows of considerable strength are easily attracted towards this dimension. That's where guardian shinigami come in and kill them," Teuchi paused when realization dawned on Naruto's face.

"And I presume during the second shinobi war, lots of hollows similar to yesterday came crashing through the air gates?" the blonde asked making Teuchi nod while Kisuke had a somewhat bored expression on his face. Matsumoto however seemed to be out of the conversation, lost in her own thoughts.

"How do you know all this oji-san? Were you amongst those guardian shinigami, fighting off those hollows?" Naruto asked as more of a statement making Teuchi grin lightly.

"Yep, I was one of them. Though I only fought around Konoha, making sure that those hollows wouldn't enter the village," he spoke making the whiskered blonde grin back at him.

"That's pretty awesome oji-san! I hope I can protect Konoha just like you!" he exclaimed making Teuchi's grin widen.

"But before that, we have to make sure that you awaken your shinigami powers, ne Naruto?" he asked in amusement making the blonde nod enthusiastically when suddenly Rangiku stood up, surprising them somewhat.

"Excuse me Teuchi-san, I'll be taking my leave now. It's just that I'm tired after barely having any sleep the previous night," she bowed a bit making the Ichiraku nod in understanding.

"I understand Rangiku-san, you can go if you want. Naruto will tell you what's discussed between us later," he said making her nod when she suddenly flash stepped out, not so much as glancing at the blonde who was sitting beside her.

"Something's wrong with her, right Naruto?" Teuchi asked with a serious expression making the former shinigami sigh as he put his face in his palms.

"Yeah, I'll have to talk to her," he mumbled, drawing a deep breath in.

"Naruto, the reason I brought Kisuke here is to awaken your shinigami powers," this made the jinchuriki's eyes widen as he turned his head towards Kisuke only to sweatdrop.

"Um...are you sure he's the right man for the job," Teuchi became confused as Naruto pointed behind him. Turning back in his chair, a vein popped on his forehead upon seeing Kisuke sleeping on the table, snoring lightly with a silly smile on his face. His face began to heat up in anger while Naruto struggled to control his laughter.

"WAKE THE HELL UP URAHARA!"

BONK!

"Itai Itai! What happened Teuchi?" Kisuke asked lazily, a yawn escaping his lips as he sat there with a lump on his head before noticing Naruto staring at him in amusement.

"Well anyway..." sighing in exasperation, the Ichiraku continued, "Kisuke here will help me bring your shinigami powers back."

Now seeing the lazy smile on the bucket hat's face, Naruto was seriously doubting if Teuchi had picked the right man.

"Don't worry Naruto-san, I'm much more capable than what you've judged me as so far," Kisuke spoke seriously, again creeping Naruto with how quickly his tone had changed.

"But, why him? Couldn't you and Ayame-chan do it yourself oji-san?" he asked making the Ichiraku shake his head.

"You'll see tomorrow just why we need an extra expert here Naruto," Teuchi uttered making the whiskered blonde sigh, before he smiled at Urahara.

"Oh well, if oji-san trusts you, then I trust you too Urahara-san. And I'm sorry for the way Rangiku-chan behaved," he verbalized apologetically making Kisuke smile at him lightly.

"Not to worry Uzumaki-san...in fact, the moment I saw her, vice captain of tenth division of Seireitei, I was expecting her to attack me," he spoke honestly making Naruto's eyes widen.

'_That would mean he was ready to defend himself against any form of attack...and he didn't even have any zanpakutou. This man really must be very strong if oji-san brought him here from another dimension,'_ the blonde jinchuriki thought in realization.

"Listen Naruto...from now on, Anko being an exception, no matter what the case...you are not to tell about yourself or the shinigami to anyone else," Teuchi articulated with a grim expression making him nod in confusion.

"That guardian shinigami just now, we'll be working with him from now on. Meaning, he will be around Konoha constantly. In this dimension, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Society, no human is to know about the things that are tied to the spiritual world," the Ichiraku continued, further increasing Naruto's confusion.

"Then what about me, aren't I a human too? And Ayame-chan is a part human too right?" he questioned.

"You being a jinchuriki combined with your high reiryoku reserves makes you special Naruto. Ayame-chan however, is a part shinigami too, so she's allowed to be in this with me. Anko however is a human and as such we've broken the rules by deliberately telling her about the shinigami and hollows," Teuchi explained, pausing in between while Naruto glanced warily at Kisuke at being called a jinchuriki in front of him.

"Don't worry Uzumaki-san, you're secret is safe with me. I wouldn't tell anybody else," Urahara articulated with a sincere smile making the blonde smile gratefully.

"And I'll tell Anko not to meet us when that guardian shinigami is around. We have to remain on our toes from now on. If that shinigami gets to know of this, most likely he's gonna straightaway report to the Spirit Society and the spirit king will take some...actions. And I don't want to imagine the consequences of those actions, and believe me Naruto...neither would you," the Ichiraku spoke in a grave tone making Naruto gulp in nervousness while Kisuke almost laughed at seeing that expression.

"You keep saying Spirit Society. What's this Spirit Society? Does it exists in the spirit king's realm?" he questioned in curiosity making Teuchi facepalm himself while Kisuke chuckled to himself in amusement.

"I totally forgot to tell you about this earlier," the ramen chef muttered to himself before sighing quietly.

"Remember a month ago, the night when you became a shinigami, when you presumed that your parents were in soul society now?" he asked making Naruto's eyes soften as he mumbled a quiet 'Hai'.

"Well, you were wrong. You see, things here in the elemental nations work differently. While civilians here, with normal spiritual energy, die and go to Soul Society just like in Kisuke's dimension here, but what about the shinobi here? All the ninja here above the chunin level possess a high amount of reiryoku and hence are easily capable of becoming seated officers, vice captains and captains of Seireitei. All of the kage level and elite jounins in fact could make captains just because of the amount of reiryoku they possess, which would grow to frightening levels as they train more for some years. Where do you think guardian shinigami come from?," Teuchi spoke, pausing in between with a look of anticipation in his eyes while staring at Naruto, whose eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"So you mean to say that because of so many ninja possessing such high levels of spiritual energy, all of them, when they die, go to this place called Spirit Society which is linked to this dimension?" he asked in surprise making the old chef nod.

'_Hm...this kid is fast,' _Kisuke thought with an impressed look in his eyes.

"But what about the genins? I mean, they too possess higher reiryoku than normal right? There has to be limit of reiryoku a person possesses, which would decide where he will go, Soul Society or Spirit Society right?" he asked with a gleam in his eyes making Urahara grin.

"Exactly Uzumaki-san! And that limit, which is called as the _**guardian limit**_,is set by the spirit king, he's the supreme ruler of the spiritual world after all," the bucket hat uttered with a smile when Naruto's eyes widened.

"What about Shiroi-chan? She was a normal civilian! Then she has most probably gone to Soul Society right?" he asked making Teuchi shake his head while Kisuke looked on in confusion.

"Shiroi-san, when she died, had normal reiryoku reserves. But being in your presence for a week...and later in our presence too, her reiryoku reserves had increased exponentially. I can't say if her reiryoku levels had crossed that limit, hence we can't say for sure where she went...whether Soul Society or Spirit Society," the Ichiraku muttered.

"But I couldn't sense any reiatsu from her," the blonde argued with a frown.

"That's because your own reiatsu clouded hers all the time, that's why you couldn't sense it. But don't worry, even if she has went to Spirit Society, she will receive training for becoming a shinigami there. And who knows, one day, you might be able to meet her again. Even if she wouldn't remember anything regarding her real life here in the material world, at least you have a chance of seeing her here again," the old chef offered with a smile while a bright grin took birth on Naruto's face.

"Really? Awesome! I do remember her reiatsu signature, so I might be able to meet her someday! But..." his ecstatic expression soon turned down as he sighed to himself.

"To become as strong as these guardian shinigami, she would have to train for years to reach the required level. I don't want to wait that much," he murmured to himself in a depressed tone when Kisuke laughed lightly.

"But there's one more thing that Ichiraku-san here forgot to tell you Uzumaki-san!" he uttered cheerfully making Teuchi's left eye twitch at the 'Ichiraku-san' jab.

"Huh? What would that be?" the whiskered blonde asked with a ray of hope.

"It's the time Uzumaki-san. The time in the Spirit Society flies reaaal fast as compared to all the other dimensions including this one," Kisuke wagged his index finger playfully, his voice full of amusement while Naruto's eyebrows lifted in surprise at the revelation.

"H-How much fast?" in response, Kisuke seemed to think with his index finger holding his chin, further building the suspense while Teuchi just sighed at his long term friend's antics.

"Let's say by a factor oooof...a hundred most probably," he answered making the blonde's breathing hitch in his throat

"A hundred? Meaning one day here is equal to hundred days there...four days here easily over a year there..." he mumbled to himself in shock before a light grin took birth on his face.

"Meaning I have a chance of meeting Shiroi-chan in the near future huh?" he verbalized giddily.

"IF she went to Spirit Society that is...she also could've gone to Soul Society you know," Teuchi corrected the ecstatic blonde who just ignored him and continued to grin as he stood up.

"Meh! I trust the effects of my presence...I can easily say that her reiatsu must have crossed the guardian limit!" a stupid grin on his face making Teuchi smile at the boy's positive attitude when Kisuke spoke.

"One more thing I wanted to inform you about Uzumaki-san, a few days ago in my dimension, a human...similar to you became a shinigami, just like the way you did," this made the blonde snap his head to look at him in shock.

"What? Another human became a shinigami? And you said like me? Does he have high reiatsu like me too?" he asked making Kisuke nod with a bright smile.

"Yep! But there's a difference...the zanpakutou he gained after activating his shinigami powers was his own, meaning...the manifestation of his own soul. In your case however, aside from receiving Matsumoto-san's shinigami powers, you also received her zanpakutou along with its spirit...which should be impossible to say the least," Kisuke's face was now serious while Naruto mentally agreed with him.

'_He's right, Rangiku-chan's zanpakutou spirit Haineko__-chan__ was also transferred to me. That's the reason I could talk to her. But how did this happen? Was this because of the __k__yuubi?'_ he thought when Urahara continued.

"And that was a dangerous thing Uzumaki-san. Only one shinigami can be the owner of a zanpakutou spirit at a time. If by chance, Matsumoto-san's zanpakutou spirit would've chosen you as its new owner..." he trailed while Naruto did not like where this was going, where the situation could've gone in his case.

"Then?" he asked tentatively as Kisuke stared at him seriously.

"Then she would've lost her powers forever. She would've been forced to live as an ordinary soul...no, Seireitei would have executed her," the bomb shell being dropped, Naruto's eyes widened in mind numbing shock.

"It's a good thing that her powers along with her zanpakutou spirit returned to her last night, meaning her zanpakutou spirit still considered her as its rightful owner," Teuchi uttered as the blonde still found himself paralyzed with the news. They had taken such a big risk? What if Rangiku really had lost all of her powers? She would've been dead, and she transferred her powers to save him in the first place!

Just the thought of her dying...

'_It...hurts so much...'_ he thought, bringing his hand upto his heart while Teuchi, sensing the boy's discomfort, spoke in a comforting tone.

"Don't worry Naruto, nothing like that would happen now. She's safe now. The fact that her powers returned before Soul Society could know about her transferring her powers to a human indicates that she's safe. She can safely return to her life back at Seireitei now," this constricted the blonde's heart even more now.

"S-She would be going?" he asked, stuttering in between making Teuchi nod in sadness.

"Of course Naruto. She belongs to Soul Society, she's a vice captain there, a high ranking officer who can't just ignore her duties for long. Now that her powers have returned, she will have to resume her duties and report back to Soul Society where her friends and her captain are most probably still worried for her," the Ichiraku spoke in a solemn tone making him lower his head, a look of hurt and pain crossing his shadowed eyes.

"I think you should return to your apartment and rest Naruto, you're not fully healed yet," Teuchi said making the blonde nod when Kisuke mumbled .

"Oh, and Uzumaki-san...be ready. Tomorrow we awaken your original shinigami powers," a mysterious smile on his face while Naruto's eyes widened at this.

"So soon? I mean, not that I'm complaining...but I would've expected you to do some preparations for this and take some time," Naruto spoke in surprise.

"The sooner it's done, the better it is. Right now, Konoha needs as much help as we can get. And we cannot always rely on shinobi helping us to fight those hollows. Repeatedly using Kakeisoushinki on humans can be harmful. So, you getting your shinigami powers will be helpful to us. Besides, didn't you say you wanted to protect Konoha? Even though you did just that the previous night, what about the future? The next time, we can expect an attack of even larger scale than yesterday," Teuchi answered with a grim expression making Naruto nod seriously.

"I see...well then, I'll come by tomorrow morning then. I also have to meet jiji today about the schedule for team placements. But I'm confused. What if I hadn't lost Rangiku-chan's powers the previous night? Would you two have waited for me to lose those powers first then?" the whiskered blonde questioned when Kisuke readjusted his hat, a grave expression on the former captain's face.

"Then we would've been forced to destroy your _**Saketsu**_(Binding Chain) Uzumaki-san," this made Naruto's breathing hitch in shock. He knew what Saketsu was, Teuchi had already told him about that. The Saketsu on a Shinigami was just as important as the Chain of Fate was on a Plus. While there was no chain per se connected to a Shinigami, the area where the Chain of Fate was originally situated was still just as important as when the Shinigami was a simple soul.

In a Shinigami, the Saketsu acted as a boost to the spiritual power-commonly considered as a pressure point. If this was pierced, it would seal up this spiritual power, and the Shinigami would lose all their power. The Shinigami who experienced this could never be a Shinigami again.

"S-Saketsu...are you serious?" he stuttered when Teuchi spoke with a sigh.

"Relax Naruto, not that it's gonna happen now. Even if we had to do it, the damage wouldn't have been permanent. The Saketsu would've been healed when you awakened your own powers. So just chill and go to your apartment. Kisuke and I have some important matters to discuss."

Grumbling to himself, the blonde turned around when he was called.

"And you're going to go like that. You should use your gigai," the Ichiraku uttered with a smirk.

"Well no one is gonna see me anyway...and these gigai's are not comfortable. They really slow me down," he muttered while waving his hand off handily before turning around.

"I'll be here tomorrow then...be ready you guys," he said before shunpo'ing out of the apartment, surprising Kisuke.

"Oh...so the boy can already use shunpo huh? Impressive Teuchi, I guess you took training for this boy seriously huh?" Kisuke asked with a small laugh while the ramen chef was lost in his own thoughts.

'_It's you who needs to be ready for tomorrow Naruto.'_

**Naruto's Apartment- Several Minutes Later**

Appearing in the living room of his apartment, Naruto stretched his arms with a smile.

"Ah...home sweet home," he said to himself when he noticed the silence in the apartment.

'_Huh? I wonder where Rangiku-chan is?'_ he thought when suddenly he realized something. Teuchi had spoken that she was going to leave soon...this strained his heart as he closed his eyes, the news hurting him deeply.

'_Calm down Naruto...it wasn't like she was going to stay here forever. You knew all along that she was going to depart someday...as soon as she got her powers back that is. She is a shinigami of soul society, a vice captain of her division, she has duties to do, she has her own life to live there. I can't ask her to stay here just because of my selfish reasons...just because I like her company...just because I like her smile...'_ his clutched his heart, now gazing at the floor in sadness.

'_Just because I...'_ his thoughts trailed as a wave of sadness overtook his body. First Shiroi, and now it was Rangiku. Why did they have to leave? It just wasn't fair. All his life he earned for people who would acknowledge his existence...no, not only acknowledge his existence. Deep down he wanted them to like his presence, for them to be his friends, for them to...maybe love him?

But Shiroi did love him! No...she DOES love him! She was still alive in his heart, and would always be. Besides, he had chances of meeting her in the future. So he couldn't give up. But still, Rangiku...she was special too. Without her, his life was incomplete. He had become addicted to her presence over the month, become addicted to her warm and loving smile, to her teasing, to her mischievous antics and her jovial personality. He just had become to addicted to...the beautiful person that was Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Ah well...cheer up Naruto! This time I wouldn't cry. I will give her a proper farewell with a smile on my face. I will not act like a sissy like I did in front of Shiroi-chan!" he muttered to himself, involuntarily thinking it was strange that he started talking to himself. Wiping the moisture from his eyes, he smiled to himself before going towards the bedroom, having sensed Rangiku's reiatsu.

"Hey Rangiku-chan! I've some great news for ya!" he exclaimed with a grin, opening the door to see her standing in front of the window, gazing outside. She didn't respond or even visibly reacted, making him think that she might be deep in some thought.

"Oji-san told me that I have a chance of meeting Shiroi-chan in the near future! Isn't that great? I will be able to meet her again!" a grin on his face which slowly faded when she didn't respond.

"Rangiku-chan, is something wrong?" he asked with a concerned expression, now walking towards her.

"No...nothing's wrong Naru-kun," she responded softly, her tone containing sadness which Naruto did not fail to notice.

"Are you still moody over the fact that I didn't tell you about me being able to talk with Haineko-chan?" he asked with a sigh when she turned around while he was a bit taken aback upon noticing her sharp eyes, anger in them. Never had he seen Rangiku like that over the month.

"Moody?" she asked with narrowed eyes, a frown on her face.

"You're calling me moody? I'm just sad that you're still hiding things from me Naru-kun!" she spoke a bit loudly making his eyes widen in surprise.

"Why are you getting so worked up over a simple matter Rangiku-chan? I already told you that I did not want you to think less of me...I didn't know if it's normal for a shinigami to talk to his zanpakutou," he spoke making her lips curl downwards now.

"I didn't think any less of you when I was told about the kyuubi being sealed inside you...why did you think such a simple matter would make me think any less of you? Is it because you do not trust me enough? I'm tired of you keeping secrets from me," her voice got soft in the end, her frown being replaced by a poignant look on her face while Naruto stood there in surprise over her acting like this.

"You didn't tell me about you training secretly at night...I would've helped you gladly, you didn't tell me about Anko knowing the truth...and now, you didn't tell me this. How many secrets are you actually keeping from me Naruto? I told every single one of mine. I told you my whole life...I told you everything. I told you about my friends, Gin, my life, soul society, stuff which was forbidden to tell an outsider due to the rules of Soul Society, I told you everything. I didn't hide a single thing from you," she mumbled, gazing at the floor while seeing the hurt look on her face, it was breaking Naruto's heart.

"It's like you don't trust me with your secrets. It's like...you can't trust me. I thought you trusted me with everything Naru-kun. But every week I come to know a new secret about you...why can't you trust me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper while moisture again gathered in the whiskered blonde's eyes.

"I...I don't want to burden you with my problems," his voice hoarse as he controlled the quivering in his voice, stating in a stern tone. Rangiku however lifted her head to stare at him in surprise.

"Then do you mean to say that I burdened you with my problems when I told you everything about me? Is that how you think Naruto?" she was staring at him right in the eye, anger building up inside her while his eyes widened slowly, stunned at her accusation.

"N-No Rangiku-chan! It's not like that. It's just that...well, soon you would be returning to Soul Society, so I just wanted to make sure you leave with happy memories of this place, not thinking over my problems," he muttered while Matsumoto clenched her fists, her eyes widened a bit before they softened.

"Then what if I don't go to Soul Society? What if I choose to stay here for the rest of my life? Would you trust me then?" she asked in a soft voice, now staring at his widened eyes in anticipation.

"But you can't Rangiku-chan! You have your own life! You can't just stay here and leave all your comrades, your friends, your captain and everything behind like that!" he exclaimed when the blonde lieutenant spoke immediately.

"And what about you? Would I able to leave you so easily?" her voice a bit loud making Naruto's eyes widen in shock at her question. What was she saying? Did she realize what she was saying?

"Rangiku-chan...what are you talking about? Of course you would be able to leave me easily. We have only known each other for a month while you've been living in soul society for years, you have your whole life there," he stated with a soft expression while tears gathered in her eyes as she bit her bottom lip.

"Is that what you think of u-us? That we have just known e-each other for a month now? Nothing m-more than that?" she asked with a bit of stutter, her vision getting foggy while Naruto became shocked at noticing her eyes getting glossy.

Rangiku was hurt, deeply so. When she had earlier told that guardian shinigami about her being a former vice captain of Soul Society, it was for a reason. She had decided during the previous night, while taking care of Naruto that she was going to stay with him in this dimension. She had resolved herself to be ready to face all difficulties, to go against everything, to leave her former life just for him. And here, he wanted her to go back? Didn't he want her in his life? Was she wrong in interpreting that he possibly had feelings for her? He was just treating her like a friend. So he really thought of her only as a friend, so easily ready to say her 'good bye'.

"Wha-What are you ta-"

"I-If you want me to leave, then I will," she took a deep breath to speak clearly, trying to push back her tears as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Naruto stood there shocked, not knowing what was going on with her as she quietly wiped her cheek. Rangiku did not say anything else as she started to walk around him, intent on being alone for a while when she found her right hand being grabbed.

Surprised, she looked back to notice him looking at her in what seemed to be confusion, which was slowly changing, his expression changing from a perplexed one to that of being determined.

Rangiku stared at him quietly, a look of longing in her eyes, her heart beating frantically in her chest when he smiled at her, that warm smile which always made butterflies churn in her belly. Pulling her gently towards him, he took her in a warm hug. His arms were wrapped her neck, his face buried in her shoulder while Rangiku stood there in surprise, her eyes wide before they slowly softened.

'_I don't know why she's acting like that...but...but I'll just tell her everything. I will tell her what I want...I wouldn't hide anything from her,'_ he thought decisively while Matsumoto wrapped her arms around his torso, feeling herself melting in the hug. This was the first time Naruto had hugged her. Usually she was the one to hug him, and they were always playful but this...this was a sensual act of affection.

Both stood there silently, not saying a word while Rangiku closed her eyes as she hugged him tighter to her. It made her feel at peace...he made her feel at peace.

"Rangiku-chan...gomenasai. I never meant to hurt you, you are very precious to me," god this was embarrassing! Thank Kami his face was buried in her shoulder, his cheeks were heating right now. But for her, he had to say it!

"I...I really want you to stay with me...forever. When I heard from oji-san today that you would be leaving soon, I was shocked. Not from the fact that you would be leaving, but from the sudden realization that how much I wanted you to be in my life. That how my life was incomplete without you. This past month, with you, was the most awesome time of my life. I...I can't describe the amount of happiness I felt staying with you. I cherish every moment of it," tears started to stream down Rangiku's eyes as she stood in his embrace wide eyed, her heart swelling with unexplainable emotions.

"I don't want you to go anywhere, I want you to stay with me, here...in this small apartment. I want to share all of my secrets with you...everything. Whenever I think of you leaving me, it hurts...it hurts so much that I almost wish that I never find a precious person ever again because...the misery of your most important people in the world leaving you forever...is...is just unbearable," a few tears now escaped the confines of Naruto's eyelids as he hugged her tighter. Matsumoto however was stunned into further silence, awed at intensity of his feelings that he was pouring out to her.

"But please, don't get angry at me. Don't get hurt...I never wanted to hurt you. Whatever I did, I'm sorry. You know I'm an idiot. Please don't cry...Rangiku-chan. I can't bear to see you in so much pain," his voice now choked as he pulled her body against him tightly, himself unsure of the feelings that were sprouting inside him.

Matsumoto was touched. She didn't knew he felt that way. Of course she had an idea that he really cared for her, but to this extent? Her tears continue to fell off her chin as she pulled herself back gently.

Naruto, reluctant to leave the hug, not wanting her to see him cry like that, had his head lowered as he wiped his tears quickly.

"Na-Naruto..." she spoke in a trembling voice, a teary smile on her face as she waited for him to lift his head. Wiping his cheeks dry, the whiskered blonde lifted his head as he smiled at her, a light shade of red dusting his cheeks in embarrassment.

His hazy vision clearing, he was taken aback by the bright smile on her face, her vibrant sky blue eyes, the warmth and love in them.

"S-Sorry I got carried away," he spoke with small smile when Rangiku took his right hand in hers. He looked at her in confusion, but with the same amount of warmth in his oceanic blue eyes. His eyes though widened when she started to lean closer, her eyes half lidded as Matsumoto slowly closed the gap between them.

Naruto found himself unable to move, enchanted by the warmth and love in her hazy eyes as she continued to lean forward- her heart thumping against her chest. Her moist pink lips, which were slightly parted were an enticing sight all the more. His heart started to beat faster, his breathing momentarily coming to a pause when something swelled inside of him.

'_C__an't...resist it.'_

He did something that shocked both of them.

Leaning forward, he captured her soft lips in his making her eyes widen in surprise.

Both stood there in a lip lock as Rangiku's eyes slowly closed, finding herself melting in the kiss, his warm and soft lips sending bolts of pleasure down her spine. Wanting to feel more of him, she pressed her lips harder against his as Matsumoto wrapped her arms around his neck while Naruto, on instinct encircled his arms around her slim back. She rubbed her lips against his, moaning throatily at the pleasurable sensation while Naruto too was blown away. Both of their minds were currently blank as they enjoyed their first kiss.

Rangiku however, pressed her body against his more as she deepened the kiss further while Naruto could not believe how good the kiss felt. Her hands were gently sifting through the blonde locks on his back head while he was rubbing the small of her back. Rangiku, sensing the bed behind her, pulled him towards her as both of them slowly fell on the soft bed.

Naruto, currently on top of her, was now eagerly kissing her back...although gently, his eyes closed in pleasure. The kiss was gentle and passionate, both of them lost in this sensual act of intimacy when Naruto slowly pulled back in need of oxygen.

Eventually opening her eyes, she gazed into his eyes as both of stared at each other softly.

"Naruto..." she mumbled with a smile, cupping his cheek. Right now, she felt SO happy! It was...it was like a dream come true! They both had kissed! And it was so beautiful, so passionate, such tenderness, it blew her away, it made her want more!

Naruto too, for some odd reason, felt ecstatic and excited. Now seeing her beautiful face, her lovely sky blue orbs, her flawless skin...it made him want to do more. He wanted more of this.

"T-That was my first kiss," she spoke softly with a gently smile, a light shade of pink tinting her cheeks while he smiled back.

"Mine too...Rangiku-chan," he muttered. Gazing into his oceanic blue orbs, she found herself loving him more. He still had that innocent look in his eyes...that sweet innocence, that warmth, love and care for her, he was just so beautiful to her.

Naruto's eyes however, saddened a bit when he remembered Shiroi. He felt like he had betrayed her...she said she loved him, and he kissed Rangiku.

The blonde lieutenant, sensing his discomfort, cupped his cheek gently again.

"Thinking about Shiroi-chan?" she asked making his eyes widen in shock. How did she know? Rangiku giggled at his silly face as she playfully encircled her arms around his neck.

"Shiroi-chan said she loved me...I felt like I..." his voice trailed as he averted his gaze. Matsumoto smiled warmly at him as she continued to gently cup his cheek.

'_He's just so sweet...so irresistible. Caring for Shiroi-chan's feelings even now,'_ she thought, a beautiful smile on her face.

"You have to move on Naruto. It's good that you respect her feelings. But keep in mind that she loved you, which means that she only wants your happiness. If just because of her, you cannot move on in your life, then that will make her sad," Rangiku said making him look at her in surprise. He never thought of it this way.

"True love is selfless Naruto. Shiroi-chan loved you with every fiber of her being. She would want you to move on, to go for what you want and not back off just because of her," she paused while the blonde seemed to be in thought over her words.

'_She's right. If Shiroi-chan would be sad to see me with someone else, she would be even sadder if I don't stay happy. Shiroi-chan once said that my happiness was all that mattered to her...if that is the case...'_ he thought, now looking at Rangiku.

"And I know that you want me, so Shiroi-chan would be happy if you take me," she teased him with a smirk, winking at him sexily leading to a furious blush on Naruto's face as he understood what she as talking about.

"W-What are you talking about you pervert!" he exclaimed, damn this woman always teased him mercilessly. Trying to get off in embarrassment, Rangiku pulled him towards her hard, a giggle escaping her lips.

"Relax Naruto, just stay here with me okay?" she asked with a pout, a cute expression on her face which, by standards of a normal human, he couldn't resist.

"Fine..." he muttered with a sigh, grumbling under his breath about 'her always having her way with him'...something which made Rangiku blush at the double meaning of the sentence when a perverted smile took birth on her face, now hugging him close to her.

'_Well I wouldn't mind that either Naru-kun~'_

**So next chapter, we enter 'Trials of the Shattered Shaft'- TBD version lol- meaning, we would be entering the part where Naruto awakens his shinigami powers. :D**

**So in this chapter, we came to know about an important element of the story- the Spirit Society and the possibility of Naruto meeting up with Shiroi in the future. ;) We also get to know that in Kisuke's dimension, Ichigo gained his powers just now WHEN in ch 3, it was mentioned that Soul Society had sent Rukia to Karakura Town a week later after Rangiku's disappearance, so this means that Ichigo should've gained his powers a month ago right? Can anybody guess what happened here? :)**

**Naruto somewhat realizes his feelings for Rangiku, but oh boy...Ayame-chan wouldn't be happy. :D**

**Another important fact- Naruto was able to contact Haineko since some point of time during the month.**

**Anyway, the method I'm using for awakening Naruto's shinigami powers would be **_**unique**_** and in no way would it resemble canon Bleach, and that method would be logical too...not something which is used only because it is 'cool' to say- meaning it will be an important part of the plot. :)**

**Well, that's it I guess. And if you can...reviews would be really appreciated, just so I know your thoughts on this fic.**

**Also, the updates would be returning to their regular pace, though faster than before. Next update would be around upcoming 30th, I'm stating this cause I've already written the next chapter. :p**

**So see you next week guys, until then, take care! Hope you're enjoying the story so far. :D **

**Ja ne~**

**N6023**


	15. Trials Of The Shattered Shaft

**Chapter 15-Trials Of The Shattered Shaft!**

"And I know that you want me, so Shiroi-chan would be happy if you take me," she teased with a smirk, winking at him sexily making a furious blush erupt on Naruto's face as he understood what she was talking about.

"W-What are you talking about you pervert!" he exclaimed, damn this woman always teased him mercilessly. Trying to get off in embarrassment, Rangiku pulled him towards her hard, a giggle escaping her lips.

"Relax Naruto, just stay here with me okay?" she asked with pout, a cute expression on his face which, by standards of a normal human, he couldn't resist.

"Fine..." he muttered with a sigh, grumbling under his breath about 'her always having her way with him'...which made Rangiku blush at the double meaning of the sentence when a perverted smile took birth on her face, now hugging him close to her.

'_Well I wouldn't mind that either Naru-kun~' _

A comfortable silence ensued between the duo as they reveled in each other's warmth. A contended sigh escaped Matsumoto's lips as she ran her fingers through his blonde locks, her arms wrapped around his neck while Naruto's head was buried in her chest.

Miraculously, he wasn't blushing or uncomfortable with the position as compared to in the past.

_'This feels...peaceful,'_ he thought, snuggling his face into the valley of her breasts sending of tingle of pleasure down her spine, her cheeks flushing a light shade of pink.

Rangiku smiled with warmth and love reflecting in her eyes as she glanced at him before gazing at the ceiling, her fingers gently rubbing his head while a small smile tugged at Naruto's lips- closing his eyes in comfort.

_'This, feels so great...is this love?'_ Rangiku pondered, her legs mingled with Naruto's, both of them currently laying on the bed. Honestly, she had never felt so happy in her life. In Seireitei, she would be her bubbly self, drinking, organizing parties, teasing her captain, running from work...all of that for fun, living for so many years, killing hollows, doing paperwork, it quickly got boring to her. There, just was something that was missing in her life. She had no family, no one to return to after a long day of work, nothing to look forward to. Even though she was cheerful all the time, as if nothing could pull her mood down, truth was, whenever she returned from work, alone in her quarters; she would feel this strange emptiness in her heart. She never knew what that strange feeling was, just that it made her sad and that her smile would vanish.

And after coming to this dimension a month ago, she now recognized what that feeling was. She wanted someone in her life, someone who would fill that gap. In this dimension, ever since she had met Naruto, that feeling of emptiness in heart had just...vanished altogether. Now whenever she returned from work, she had something to look forward to, someone who would be waiting for her at home. Yes, Naruto's apartment, she had started to feel as if it was her own home.

_'Our home...'_ Matsumoto thought with a bright smile, her eyes closed as a single tear escaped the confines of her closed eyelids- a single warm stream of liquid that contained so much hapiness, so many emotions.

"Naruto..." she started with a sniff making his eyes open in surprise upon hearing her 'sniff'.

Lifting his face, he noticed her staring at him with glossy eyes, a radiant smile on her face.

"Rangiku-chan? What's the matter?" he asked in concern, bringing his right hand up as he wiped the moisture off her right cheek, his fingers brushing gently against her soft and smooth skin making her lean into his touch.

_'I've never seen her so vulnerable,'_ he thought subconsciously.

"Why are you crying?" the whiskered blonde asked softly, the innocent care in his eyes touching her deeply, making her heart beat strongly. Matsumoto giggled lightly as she ruffled his hair, making him look at her in confusion.

"I've made my decision, I'm not going back to Soul Society Naruto," she uttered, now using the blonde's name without any honorific. Naruto however felt a burst of happiness as he grinned at her in excitement.

"Really?" he asked making her nod.

"That's so great dattebayo!" he exclaimed, hugging her tightly making her blush a bit. Her hugging him or teasing him was one thing, but Naruto hugging her voluntarily...that rarely happened, hence justifying the blush.

"But...what about your life there? Won't you miss your friends and comrades?" he asked with scrunched eyebrows making her giggle at his cuteness. Even in his adult form, he held a unique physical trait- a mixture of handsome facial features with cute expressions.

"Don't worry, I can live without them. Besides, I have my own life here now," she answered with a warm smile making him grin lightly.

_'It's you who I can't live without,' _she mused with a loving smile.

"Well then, it's settled. You belong to this dimension now! I was so sad when oji-san told me that you would be leaving this dimension!" he exclaimed with a pout, his cheeks a light shade of red in embarrassment.

"Y-You were?" Rangiku asked with wide eyes, inwardly doing a happy dance while he nodded.

"Well...of course. I'm sure everybody in the village would've been sad due to you leaving," he added afterwards, averting his gaze making Rangiku frown a bit. She didn't care for what anyone else thought, she only cared about what he felt, only his feelings mattered to her.

"What about you?" she asked with an expression of anticipation on her face making his cheeks turn a darker shade of red.

"W-Well...I was very sad. I felt like..." the blonde trailed as he scrunched his eyebrows, trying to describe his honest feelings on the matter, he didn't want to hide things from her anymore. Rangiku however was listening to every single word he spoke, carving it into her memory.

"It felt like my heart was being squeezed from inside, I felt really sad. I felt...lonely again," his eyes grew soft as he stared into her eyes.

"We have had so much fun together the past month, I didn't feel alone. My heart...didn't feel empty. I could smile and laugh whole heartedly with you. You didn't glare at me, you didn't call me names. You did so much for me, you bought me vegetables. You made my heart beat stronger, you made me laugh. It was...it was unreal. I'd never felt so happy in my life. There was always that warm look in your eyes, it made me feel...so at peace, someone finally recognized me," his voice was barely above a whisper now, eyes staring downwards while tears streamed down Matsumoto's face at hearing him pour out his feelings.

"You trained me, whenever I fell, you cheered me on, encouraging me to give my best. You comforted me when Shiroi-chan left. You weren't even annoyed once by my silly antics and pranks...I could just be myself around you. You were...you are, everything I ever wanted in my life, you gave me everything. It was like, you were an angel who came from the heaven we call Soul Society into this dimension," his lips curled upwards into a fond smile, still staring downwards.

"I just...I just didn't want that angel to leave my life. I...didn't want to be lonely again. I knew...I knew it was selfish of me to think like that, that's why I earlier argued with you that you should go back to your life. It's like, this apartment has come to life the moment you stepped in, sleeping on this bed when we first met, ne Rangiku-chan?" laughing lightly to himself, Naruto lifted his head, his eyes widening when he noticed tears freely cascading down her cheeks.

"Hey wha-umph!"

"I would never leave you!" Rangiku exclaimed as she hugged him tightly, clutching his head to her voluptous chest as she held him tightly to her as if he was her lifeline.

Naruto smiled to himself as he hugged her back, a single tear trailing down his cheek.

Rangiku's heart was thumping in her chest as she hugged him for dear life, wanting to hold him like this forever.

"I would never leave you alone! From now on, don't you ever dare think you're alone! And this apartment is my home too, I would never leave this place!" Matsumoto exclaimed, her eyes closed as she rubbed the back of his head. She didn't know he felt this deeply, it was so heartbreaking yet...exciting to hear this from him! He wanted her in his life! He felt lonely without her, he called her an angel! Matsumoto squealed at the fact. He was so cute, innocent, honest; he was just so...manificent! So pure!

_'I'll be the angel you want days of you living alone are over!'_

"Rangiku-chan?" she opened her eyes upon hearing his nervous voice.

"What's wrong Naruto?" she asked, noticing the nervousness in his voice.

"Well...there's something I have to tell you."

**Konoha: Hokage's Tower: Around 4 PM**

Currently sitting on his comfy chair, Hiruzen was gazing over the village through the window, a solemn expression on his face.

_'Things aren't going to peaceful here anymore,'_ the Hokage thought as he took a puff of his pipe, currently taking a small break from the paperwork. Slowly his thoughts shifted to when Mikoto had arrived earlier this morning with Naruto's body, and boy was she in tears, thinking the boy to be dead.

_**Flashback- Earlier Today**_

WHAM!

"Hokage-sama!" Hiruzen lifted his head off the papers when he heard the doors being slammed against its hinges.

"Mikoto-san? What's wrong?" Sarutobi asked in confusion, his eyes widening when he noticed that the Uchiha matriarch was carrying Naruto's body in her arms, tears leaking down her face.

"He's not breathing Hokage-sama! I woke up just now in a clearing to find Naruto-kun's body with me, he hasn't been breathing since then! Even his heart isn't beating!" Mikoto exclaimed frantically, a few sobs escaping her as she clutched the blonde closely to her.

This made Hiruzen curse inwardly as he understood what was going on.

_'Damn it! Naruto-kun's soul is in a gigai right now, it's only natural that she would think he's dead. And after having lost her memories to the Kakeisoushinki, she doesn't remember how he left his body the previous night and rather, thinks that he's dead,'_ he thought with a frown before snapping his fingers when three Anbu appeared in front of him.

"Take Uzumaki Naruto to his private ICU ward at once!" he ordered, making them nod as they approached Mikoto.

"Uchiha-sama, we'll take care of him now," they spoke politely making her narrow her eyes.

"No! Hokage-sama! Aren't you understanding the situation? He isn't breathing! Is he...d-dead?" she asked, breaking down as more tears leaked down her face. This made Hiruzen's eyes soften. He knew how close Mikoto and Naruto were to each other. Naruto was her only support since the Uchiha massacre. It was quite understandable that she would break down like this due to the death of another of her loved ones. Even if she was a kunoichi, dealing with the death of her clan was hard enough as it is.

"Mikoto-san, listen to me carefully," the Hokage uttered in a stern voice making her look at him through her glossy eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto is NOT dead. He's just in a temporary death state. It has happened several times in the past. Whenever he uses some of the Kyuubi's chakra, he gets pushed into a temporary death state. You don't have to worry, it should take a maximum of one day before he returns to normal," he verbalized making her eyes widen as she visibly calmed down a bit.

"Y-You sure?"she asked with hope, clutching his body tightly to her while Hiruzen nodded.

"Now you go and rest and give Naruto to these Anbu. I assure you that he'll be back to normal in no time," he articulated when she shook his head.

"I'll take him there myself," Hiruzen nodded in understanding as he signaled his Anbu to return back to their positions.

"Please take care of yourself Mikoto-san, and do not worry about Naruto-kun...he'll be alright," he spoke making her nod as she vanished in a puff of smoke along with Naruto's body.

_**Flashback Ends**_

_'We're lucky I was able to make something on the spot or else it would've become a nuisance to deal with all the suspicion and the unwanted questions,'_ he thought as a smile tugged his lips upon remembering that how Mikoto was fretting over the boy's well being. He was now glad that Naruto had ruined the elder's orders to Itachi by saving Mikoto.

A sigh escaped his lips when he remembered what Teuchi had asked of him today when he had went to the Ichiraku's apartment to meet him as well as an old friend of his.

_'Now to contact Jiraiya...'_

**Timeskip: The Next Day: 11 AM: Ichiraku's Apartment**

Swoosh!

"Hey, why so quiet here? Where's everybody else?" Naruto spoke, currently in his adult form as he looked around the living room, having just arrived via shunpo. His eyes however widened suddenly when...

'_This reiatsu...'_ he thought, excitement filling his system when he sensed someone familiar in the kitchen. A smirk formed on his face when he heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the kitchen...

'_Finally sensed me eh?'_

"Naruto-kun!" Ayame cheered, poking her head around the wall making him grin as he vanished via shunpo to appear in front of her.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed, taking her into a bone crushing hug as he lifted her form off the ground making the teen squeal.

"I was so worried about you!" he spoke, hugging her tightly while she was currently holding a spatula, both of her forearms resting on his shoulders- her cheeks heating at his words.

The blonde gently set her down, grinning lightly at her as he rubbed the back of his head- a light blush on his face.

"Hehe...sorry got carried away," he muttered while Ayame was gazing at the floor, a shy smile on her face while a cute shade of light pink was present on her cheeks.

Naruto however, was somewhat confused by these strange feelings. His adult body, 'felt' things which his physical body failed to do after all, hence the blush on his face when he himself was so familiar with hugging Ayame.

"I didn't mind it though..." she spoke timidly, her blush darkening while Naruto being Naruto, failed to pick up on what she was indicating.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked with a warm smile. Ayame lifted her eyes to stare into his electric blue orbs, smiling back at him lovingly.

"I'm fine Naruto-kun. Just low on reiryoku due to having exhausting myself the other day," she replied making him nod.

"Well that's good to hear," he spoke as a comfortable silence ensued between the two. Her eyes though grew soft when she noticed his white kimono.

"So, you lost the shinigami powers Rangiku-chan gave to you huh?" she asked, gazing at his kimono with a sad look in her eyes.

"Yeah...but that's why I'm here. Oji-san asked me to come here today so that they could train me to awaken my shinigami powers," the whiskered blonde said ecstatically making her eyes narrow, when she suddenly realized something, her lips tugging into a soft smile.

"Naruto-kun?" she called.

"Hmm?"

"I'm proud of you."

Leaning towards him, she lightly kissed his right cheek, her soft lips lingering on his skin before she pulled back.

Naruto's face was currently sporting a dumbstruck expression making the ramen waitress giggle cutely.

'_Ayame-chan...really is cute...'_

"For what?" he asked innocently making her stare at him longingly.

"For not giving up on saving the village. If it weren't for your stubborn efforts, more than half of Konoha would've been destroyed by now. Even if the people of this village have forgotten your efforts, I never will. If not everybody's else...you're my hero Naruto-kun," Ayame uttered softly, staring into his enchanting electric blue eyes with a fond smile on her face.

Naruto however averted his gaze as rubbed the back of his neck, a blush of embarrassment creeping onto his cheeks while his heart swelled with happiness and joy.

"Arigatou Ayame-chan...I...thank you," he verbalized in a soft tone when Ayame lifted her hand to rest it on his cheek.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as she pinched his cheek tightly. The blonde began to rub the damaged skin as he pouted at her making her giggle.

He really was unique...a mixture of handsome facial features and cute expressions, a rarity indeed.

"Let's stop wasting time here and go downstairs shall we? Tou-san and Kisuke-san have been busy in taking care of preparations for your training since early this morning you know," Ayame verbalized, walking around him towards the kitchen.

"Preparations?" he asked when she glanced at him over her shoulder.

"You're a jinchuriki Naruto-kun...we have to take precautions," she articulated making him nod with a serious expression. He knew they couldn't possibly pose such a danger to the whole village in this.

"Anyway, where's Rangiku-chan?" she asked, coming out of the kitchen after having turned off the gas stove, a sad look in her eyes.

"Well, she said she had to talk to jiji about something. She should be arriving soon though," he answered making her nod as she put a hand on his right shoulder making him look at her, a smile on her smile.

"Let's go."

'_Oh right...she is low on reiryoku after all,'_ he thought in realization before flash stepping out of the living room along with Ayame.

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber**

Whoosh!

"Whooooa..." Naruto breathed out in wonder, currently staring at four large pillars situated in a circular pattern, a big gaping hole in the middle of it.

"Were oji-san and Urahara-san busy in digging this up since early this morning?" he asked making Ayame sweatdrop, the duo currently standing at quite some distance away from the large structure. Naruto lowered his gaze when he noticed Teuchi and Kisuke discussing something with each other.

The blonde then noticed another person out of the corner of his eyes, who was sitting on a boulder. The duo started to walk towards the pillared structure, eventually closing in when Naruto recognized the person sitting there with a bored look on her face.

"Anko-chan!" he yelled with a bright grin, waving at her making her look in their direction. Anko soon recognized them as she waved back, vanishing in a puff of smoke to appear in front of the duo.

"Good to see you all fine and healthy kid!" she exclaimed with a grin, playfully ruffling his spiky hair making his eyes twitch in irritation.

"I'm not a kid dammit!" he yelled at her, putting her hand off his head forcibly.

BONK!

"Itai! What the hell's wrong with you?" the blonde yelled comically as he pointed an accusing finger at her while Ayame put a hand on her mouth, trying to control her laughter.

"That was for you worrying me gaki," Anko spoke with a smirk on her face making him frown at her, huffing in irritation.

"I risk my life to save this village and this is the kind of thanks I get," he grumbled to himself, arms folded over his chest making a vein pop on Anko's forehead. Well...she couldn't argue against that.

"Ugh...yeah, thanks...for saving our lives gaki," she muttered in a low voice, quite begrudgingly making Ayame snicker when Naruto leaned in.

"You said something Anko-chan? Can you say it out loud?" he asked, an innocent expression on his face while Anko's eyebrows started twitching.

"I said...thanks for putting your life on the line and saving our lives," she spoke a bit loudly, an annoyed expression on her face making him grin as he put a hand on her head.

"Ah...that's better Anko-chan," he spoke while her face started to glow red in anger. Naruto then pointed at Ayame with an innocent expression on his face.

"What about Ayame-chan here? She also risked her life you know...she too deserves it," he uttered, barely controlling his laughter while Anko took deep breaths to calm herself.

'_Naruto...you...just you wait till our training...'_ she thought with inward sadistic glee.

"As yes...Ayame-chan, thanks for your efforts. It must have been quite the scare to face all those hollows alone," Anko verbalized with a smile making the ramen waitress smile back at her warmly, nodding at her when Naruto again interrupted.

"Eh? I didn't hear what you said Anko-chan...care to repeat that again? Hey Ayame-chan, you heard that?" he asked making Ayame laugh nervously when steam started to come out of Anko's ears.

"That's it Naruto!" she yelled before taking out several kunai making Ayame get more nervous while Naruto took several steps back, an uncomfortable smile on his face.

"Now now Anko-chan...he was only messing with you. You couldn't be falling fo-"

"Die!"

Ayame tried to make her understand when Anko threw the kunai at the blonde making her sweatdrop at their antics. Naruto flash stepped just in time to appear behind Anko, encircling his arms around her waist. He ran his tongue over her right cheek playfully making the jounin go stiff, her eyes wide while Ayame's jaw dropped.

"Hm~...you taste good Anko-chan," he murmured with a grin as slowly a blush crept onto her cheeks when Naruto shunpo'ed out towards Teuchi and Kisuke.

Both of them stood still, not making a sound, shocked at what the 'shy' blonde had just done- the number one unpredictable knucklehead _shinobigami_ had struck yet again.

"Uh...that was Rangiku-chan's effect right there huh?" Ayame asked, laughing awkwardly while Anko couldn't get rid of the blush on her face.

"That damn Naruto...I'm so gonna get back at him," the jounin muttered to herself, rubbing her cheek as she tried to push down her blush making Ayame sigh in exasperation when she noticed the blush.

'_Please don't tell me...not another one...'_

"Yo!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, appearing in front of Kisuke and Teuchi.

"So, I see you took quite some time reacquainting yourself with your girls huh?" Teuchi uttered with a smirk making the blonde sputter while Kisuke grinned to himself under his hat.

"My Uzumaki-san, quite the ladies man aren't you?" he teased the whiskered blonde when he noticed Ayame and Anko walking towards them.

"Alright kid...before we get started, there are several things that I have to warn you about," Teuchi started, a serious expression on his face making Naruto look at him.

"What is it oji-san?" he asked, now getting serious.

"First of all, there is a risk of you dying in this," the Ichiraku stated with a grave expression making the blonde's breathing hitch in his throat, his eyebrows lifting his surprise.

"Death?" he asked in disbelief making Teuchi nod.

"You see Uzumaki-san, for you to awaken your shinigami powers, we need weaken the seal which holds the beast inside you," Kisuke verbalized seriously, his eyes being shadowed by his hat.

"What?" Naruto exclaimed with narrowed eyes.

"Are you crazy? Weakening the seal? What if the Kyuubi gets out?" he asked heatedly, making sure to keep his voice down while Ayame and Anko continued to approach them.

"Believe me Naruto, Kyuubi wouldn't get out...unless you allow it to," Teuchi muttered making whiskered blonde look at him in surprise.

"What? What can I do in this?"

"It all depends on your willpower Uzumaki-san. You have to somehow enter your mindscape and find your zanpakutou spirit," Kisuke verbalized with a grim expression.

"But why weaken the seal? Do you realize the risk this will pose to the village?" Naruto asked, perplexed at what they were talking about.

"We believe that your zanpakutou spirit...was sealed along with kyuubi when the yondaime used the **Shiki Fujin** (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) in conjunction with the Eight Trigrams seal on your stomach," Teuchi said with a dead serious expression on his face while Naruto stood there silently, his pupils zooming out in shock.

"W-What the hell are you talking about? T-This isn't possible is it?" he asked, not being able to believe this.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Ayame asked as she along with Anko reached them.

"Oi...why are you sweating Naruto?" Anko asked with narrowed eyes, snapping the blonde out of his thoughts as he wiped his forehead with the white sleeve of his kimono.

"N-Nothing," he replied, glancing at her before shifting his gaze towards Teuchi.

"You have to go in there, in your mindscape and find your zanpakutou spirit when the seal is loosened enough," he stated while Anko's eyes widen when she heard about the seal.

"Hey, what are you talking about? Are you actually thinking of tampering with the seal?" she asked in disbelief when Kisuke turned towards her.

"It's best if you stay out of this Mitarashi-san, this is Uzumaki-san's decision...and his alone," he verbalized making her narrow her eyes when Ayame put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head as she signaled her to keep quiet.

"So Naruto, do you want to do this or not?" Teuchi questioned for the final time while the blonde gulped. This was not easy...they were going to weaken the seal somehow, and surely he would have to somehow make sure that kyuubi doesn't get out. And if he failed? If he failed...he knew it would be the end of Konoha, besides him dying of course. This was not good. Decisions like these...just couldn't be taken in a matter of minutes!

He lowered his head, eyes staring at the dirt as if in a haze while his fists were clenched. Ayame and Anko were staring at him with concerned looks in their eyes, they didn't know the complete conditions he was told to think about, but judging by look of anxiousness on his face, they could at least predict that it was something heavy.

'_But...if I back down, the hollows would still continue to come; they will attack Konoha in the future. And as oji-san said, we should be expecting more attacks, and that of greater magnitude in the future. I can't just back down from this...this is my home, even if I don't like the villagers, I have to protect this village for my few precious people living here- jiji, oji-san, Rangiku-chan, Kurenai-san, Anko-chan, Mikoto-chan, Ayame-chan and...Shiroi-chan. She loved this place, this was her home. I can't back down from this!'_ he thought, his eyes narrowing as he lifted his head, a resolute expression on his face with his eyes full of determination.

"I think you yourself know my answer, that's the reason you didn't warn me yesterday and just chose to warn me now when you have done all the preparations," Naruto verbalized with a smirk making Kisuke smirk to himself while Teuchi laughed lightly.

"Naruto-kun, are you sure?" the blonde turned around upon hearing Ayame's voice, smiling at her fiercely as he nodded at her.

"Of course! Being a shinigami means I can protect Konoha so that I can protect my precious people better!" he declared with confidence making her smile.

"Now you're talking!" Anko grinned as she slung an arm over his shoulder, ruffling his hair with her other hand.

"Hey! Get off me!" the whiskered blonde exclaimed as he pouted, rubbing his head after Anko had released him.

"Alright, no time to waste then. Let's get on with it kid," Teuchi interrupted with a serious voice, catching Naruto's attention as he nodded at them.

PUFF!

"Perfect timing Hiruzen-san!" the elder Ichiraku exclaimed with a smile when Hiruzen along with Rangiku appeared via shunshin. Naruto and Rangiku exchanged glances as they smiled at each other, something which Ayame didn't fail to notice, her expression falling at that as she clenched her fist.

"And here's what you wanted Teuchi-san," Sarutobi spoke, signaling to the large scroll in his hands which he slammed on the ground.

"Huh? What's that?" Naruto asked in confusion when Kisuke put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think we should start now Uzumaki-san, no more delaying," he muttered with a serious expression when Hiruzen answered anyway.

"This is the key to the seal on your stomach Naruto-kun," this made Naruto's eyes widen a bit as he shifted his gaze towards the large scroll.

"Alright you guys, it would be better if you stay at a distance from this large pit," Teuchi spoke making Anko get confused while Ayame nodded with him.

"Got it...let's go Anko-chan, Rangiku-chan," Ayame said, offering a apologetic look to Matsumoto as she flash stepped out to some distance away followed by Anko and Rangiku using shunshin.

"Naruto, follow me," Teuchi articulated as he used shunpo followed by Kisuke. Nodding to Hiruzen with a serious expression, he was about to follow when...

"Naruto-kun, before you go, just know that your parents loved you more than anything in this world. I'm sorry that I haven't told you yet, but I plan to do that the moment you come out of this as a shinigami," the sandaime hokage spoke in an encouraging tone, a grandfatherly smile on his face making the blonde smile back at him softly.

"Yeah, you can count on me jiji," he mumbled before blurring out with Sarutobi following via shunshin.

**Underground Chamber: Four Pillar Shaft**

"Why did you dig this pit up oji-san?" the blonde asked, gazing upwards at the hole through which the light was entering with Hiruzen unsealing the scroll in the process.

"I will answer your questions later Naruto, for now...just sit in the middle cross-legged," Teuchi uttered making the blonde nod.

"Let's do it then," Kisuke spoke, sitting in front of Naruto with Teuchi now sitting on the other side of the whiskered blonde, both facing each other.

The blonde's eyes widened when he felt an enormous pressure slam on him as he was pushed down a bit. He immediately increased his own reiatsu, cancelling the effect while Hiruzen too built up large amounts of chakra. Lifting his eyes, Naruto's eyes widened a bit upon noticing Kisuke's eyes closed, his body covered in a red glow. Turning his head back; Teuchi too was covered in a sky blue layer of reiryoku.

'_What are they planning?'_ the blonde wondered, beads of sweat rolling down his face as the reiatsu continued to increase.

"**Tsuin Bakudo no Kyuku: Daichibu: Kin! **(Twin Way of Binding Ninety Nine: Part One: Seal)" both Kisuke and Teuchi exclaimed at the same time making Naruto's eyes widen.

'_Holy shit! How did they speak at the same time?'_ he thought when Kisuke opened his eyes.

"No matter what happens Uzumaki-san, don't panic," he warned making the blonde nod with a grim expression on his face.

Along with Teuchi, Kisuke clasped his hands together, fingers intertwined intricately with his palms facing Naruto.

"Whoa!" the blonde exclaimed when his arms were forcibly bound behind his back.

"H-Hey...wha..." he trailed when he felt something covering his arms. Turning his head back, he noticed his arms being covered by a white glowing spiritual fabric before double layered iron shafts wrapped tightly against his bound forearms.

"Relax, these are just precautionary measures. Stay calm Naruto, the real test will start now," Teuchi's voice came from behind as both him and Kisuke sat there, maintaining the spell.

"It's your turn now Sarutobi-san," Urahara muttered with a serious expression, glacing at Hiruzen who was sitting a distance away from Naruto's side, the three of forming a semi circle with Naruto being its centre.

"Yeah...remember, don't let the kyuubi's hate get to you Naruto-kun, I know you can do it," the hokage spoke with a small smile, the large scroll opened in front of him. He then started to go through a long series of hand seals before stopping at the 'snake' seal, blue chakra covering the tips of his fingers, a different kanji on each of them.

Naruto gulped as he continued to gaze at Hiruzen who then slammed his fingers on the scroll. Slowly, the complex array of seals on the large scroll began to expand, leaving the scroll as they started to travel through the earth towards Naruto.

The whiskered blonde stared at the approaching line of seals, sweat now dripping down the side of his forehead.

'_Here we go...'_ he thought as soon the seals reached him, travelling up his bound arms, past his shoulders to reach the seal on his stomach. Naruto sat there, not breathing as he waited for something to happen.

"I'm going to start by loosening the seal bit by bit, when I think you wouldn't be able to handle more, I will stop. It will be difficult Naruto, but somehow, you have to enter your mindscape while you leak kyuubi's chakra," Hiruzen explained making the blonde nod as he readied himself.

"Remember Uzumaki-san, your zanpakutou spirit is in your soul, in your mindscape...you just have to find it," Kisuke spoke when Teuchi started.

"Most probably your zanpakutou spirit is in the seal, so somehow, you have to make sure that you free your soul slayer spirit without freeing the Kyuubi okay?"

"You're making this sound way too easy aren't you?" Naruto grumbled as he took deep breaths, now he wasn't so sure of himself. He was a twelve year old kid for kami's sake! He should be playing right now, eating ramen instead of doing...THIS!

"I believe in you kid...you can do it. Don't doubt yourself," Teuchi spoke making the jinchuriki glance at him through the corner of his eyes, nodding at the ramen chef.

"Get ready Naruto-kun!" Hiruzen called loudly as he started to rotate his fingers, which were still placed on the seal, anti-clockwise.

"AARGHH!" the blonde exclaimed as pain started course through his body, his eyes wide as he started to scream, the seal being loosened slowly.

FFFSHHH!

Smoke protruded out of the bottom of his form as his hair started to get spikier, nails getting pointier, fangs increasing in length while his whiskers began to get deeper.

"**Argghh! Damn it!...arghh! This hurts!" **Naruto exclaimed, his voice now demonic while Kisuke's eyes were widened as he stared at this intriguing sight.

'_I feel no reiatsu coming from this red energy though...ah, that must be because of what Teuchi told me. He informed me that the seal had sealed the spiritual essence of the beasts chakra into the spirit king, leaving only physical energy, it's life force,'_ Urahara thought when Naruto snapped open his eyes.

'_His eyes...'_ Kisuke thought in shock as he stared into those eyes, full of bloodlust and hate, crimson red in color with a black slit in the middle as the pupil.

"Do it more Hiruzen-san!" Teuchi ordered making the hokage nod as he further rotated his fingers in the anti-clockwise direction, the 'path' of seals connecting Naruto now glowing bluish-red in color.

Red chakra now started to leak from the blonde's body', his hair further getting spikier.

"**Nghrghhh!" **Naruto growled, gritting his teeth, his head now touching the ground as he tried the resist the amount of blood lust taking over him. Soon the chakra started to cover his body in the form of a cloak, a tail made of red chakra extending from his hips.

"Naruto! Listen...try to focus, remember that you have to enter your mindscape!" Teuchi yelled as both him and Kisuke continued to maintain the binding kido.

The blonde did not respond as he continued to growl, his eyes closed in pain. Opening his eyes slightly, he tried to pull his body back despite the pain. He had never used this much of kyuubi's foul chakra, hence the sudden influx of one tail's worth of chakra...or the physical essence of kyuubi's chakra per say, was hurting his spiritual body from the inside.

'_Damn it...have to concentrate...last time, it happened when I was unconscious...I have to meditate and try...to reach my mindscape...'_ he thought, using his will power as he pulled his body back.

"Yes, that's it! C'mon...you can do it kid!" Teuchi yelled, trying to encourage the ex-shinigami, training to be a shinigami.

"**Grrrrh!**" he exclaimed, sitting back up with a jerk, panting a bit- currently in his one tailed state.

'_Alright...now...concentrate!'_ he thought, panting as the blonde closed his eyes, now somewhat used to the pain. He hadn't trained for the past month for nothing after all. The physical training he had gotten from Teuchi and Anko to increase his body's physical energy had increased his endurance by leaps and bounds.

Hiruzen, who was currently sweating glanced at Teuchi, who just shook his head, signaling him to wait right now.

"Everything alright there Kisuke?" the Ichiraku asked as Urahara hadn't said anything since Naruto's transformation had started.

"Nah! I'm fine Teuchi!" he replied, though inwardly, he had to say; the foul feeling of the chakra was something else. He had never experienced something like this.

'_Naruto-kun...c'mon, don't fail in this. I know you can do it, make Minato and Kushina proud,'_ Hiruzen thought, wiping his forehead with his left hand while his right hand was still on the scroll.

'_C'mon...where are you...wait! I get it!'_ Naruto thought as a smirk formed on his face, now being used to the one tailed state.

'_I have to find the source of this energy and THEN push my reiryoku in there. My reiryoku control is at least upto that level after training with Ayame-chan. That way I can enter my mindscape for sure!'_ he pondered before concentrating on the core of this power, knowing that it would be coming from his stomach; where the seal was located.

His eyebrows were currently scrunched down in concentration, his body now completely still.

'_Found it! There it is! Now I just have to...push...'_ he thought, now pushing his reiryoku into the partially opened seal, when he felt his consciousness being pulled.

**Unknown World**

"Huh? What happened? Where are the others?" Naruto asked, currently sitting in the same deep shaft he was a second ago. Nobody was there, Teuchi, Hiruzen or Kisuke, all of them were missing.

'_What's happening here? Where are they? Is this...my mindscape?'_ the blonde questioned to himself as he checked his surroundings, no red chakra, no scroll...nothing, even his arms weren't tied now. Standing up, he flexed his arms before calling...

"Oji-san? Jiji?...Urahara-san?" his voice reverberating through the area when he sighed to himself.

"What the fuck is happening here?" he muttered to himself before closing his eyes, trying to sense the others.

Nothing...

He couldn't find anyone, not a single trace of reiatsu in the Ichiraku's apartment.

'_Dammit! Where am I? This can't be my mindscape! There's supposed a sewer here, a large jail with an irritating demon behind the bars!'_ he inwardly exclaimed before flash stepping out of the shaft, appearing to stand on top of one of the four pillars.

Yep, no one was here.

Further using a series of shunpo, he exited the apartment, intent on finding out as to what the hell was going on?

**Unknown World:****Konoha**

Now appearing on roof of the apartment, he noticed that the streets were empty, nothing.

"What...is going on? Why isn't anybody here?" he muttered to himself with wide eyes, standing atop a pole as he gazed at the 'empty' leaf village. He then closed his eyes, extending his senses as he tried to find any trace of living reiatsu.

His eyes then suddenly snapped wide open...

'_This feeling...this foul feeling...'_

Without any further thoughts, he flash stepped out towards the source of this...foul energy.

**Unknown World: Konoha: Hokage's Monument**

Appearing on the shodaime's head, he looked around when his he noticed someone sitting on the edge of yondaime's head, the exact place where he used to sit by himself.

'_Who's that?'_ he asked inwardly before closing his eyes.

'_And the that feeling is coming from there too,'_ he further pondered, now again using shunpo to appear on the fourth's carved head. His eyebrows though lifted in surprise when he heard sounds of crying coming from the person sitting there.

On closer inspection, he noticed the person was a woman. She had long curly red hair wearing a loose fitting, plain black kimono with purple trimmings along the sleeves and the collar. She was quietly crying to herself, her arms wrapped around her knees and was facing the village.

"Um...excuse me? Are you alright?" Naruto asked in concern, walking forward when he noticed the woman go stiff.

"W-Who is it?" the unknown female asked, quickly wiping her cheeks as she turned her head, her eyes red due to crying so much.

A blush immediately crept up Naruto's cheeks when he saw her facial features, noticing how beautiful she was. Her thick black eyelashes, small petty nose, smooth skin, red lipstick added a certain elegance to her beauty.

'_Damn...'_ the blonde thought as he continued to gaze at her. Even though he was pretty ignorant when it came to women, but he could at least recognize a beautiful one.

"Who a-are you?" she asked in a gentle melodious voice, taking a step back when Naruto lifted his hand in alarm.

"Hey be careful, you'll fall if you go backwards," the whiskered blonde warned while it looked like she didn't hear him.

"S-Stay away from me, don't come," she spoke in a quivering voice, taking another step back.

"Hey wait! Look, you'll fall down, please! Just stay calm! I won't harm you!" Naruto exclaimed as he took a step forward when she shook her head violently.

"NO! You stay away from me! D-Don't come near! I s-swear I will fall off this edge!" the woman exclaimed, taking another step and Naruto knew her foot would be touching thin air this time.

'_Shit!'_ he inwardly cursed as he vanished in shunpo, appearing behind her to hold her from her waist tightly making her squirm in his grip.

"Leave me!" she exclaimed while he kept his hold firm on her, currently standing on a reishi-platform.

"Please, just calm down. I swear I wouldn't do anything to you," he spoke softly, not leaving her while she eventually stopped struggling, panting a bit- not saying anything.

"Have you calmed down now?" he asked in concern while she sniffed. He blushed furiously upon noticing that her hands were resting on his right forearm, which was encircled around her waist.

"**Yeah, now I'm better**," Naruto's eyes widened when her earlier melodious voice, suddenly took a demonic turn.

"Nghh!" he exclaimed in reflex when she clutched his forearm hard, her nails piercing his skin as he closed one of his eyes in pain. Just as he was about to use flash step, getting hold of his bleeding forearm with her other hand, she hurled him over her head forwards with monstrous strength.

The blonde was sent sailing towards the mountain wall at blistering speeds.

WHAM!

"Argh!" Naruto exclaimed in physical shock as he crashed into the wall violently, chunks of earth flying off while inducing some dust. The faint dust revealed Naruto embedded in a crater, formed due to the bone crushing impact.

He opened his eyes, half lidded as he lifted his head...

**SQUELCH!**

"AAAAAAARGHH!" he screamed in agony when that same woman, after suddenly appearing in front of him out of nowhere slammed her hand- sporting sharp elongated nails into his gut, piercing the flesh.

"**Hm...I like that sound. So, we meet again ningen...or should I say, shinigami?**" she spoke making him open his eyes, blood dripping his chin as he stared at her through half lidded eyes.

Whoosh!

Naruto suddenly vanished in a burst of reiatsu, using shunpo to escape her before landing on the sandaime's head- currently kneeling as the blonde clutched his bleeding stomach in pain.

"**Whoa boy...that was fast Naruto-kun~**" she uttered with a smile, licking the blood off her nails.

"W-Who are you?" he asked, one eye closed as the blonde gritted his teeth.

"**You make me sad Naruto-kun. Don't you remember me?**" she asked in fake sadness, lifting her right foot making Naruto's eyes widen when he noticed two black chains, connected to her feet which were binding her to the yondaime's head.

'_Chains...that foul feeling...this voice...'_ his breathing hitched in his throat when he connected the pieces together.

"K-Kyuubi?" he asked in shock, wiping the blood off his chin making her smirk.

"**Of course, what do you think these chains are for. Though it does makes me curious as to why they got thinner just now. What, thinking of releasing me Naruto~-kun?**," she said with a cold smirk, her hands now cleansed off his blood while Naruto was racking his brain as to what was going on? This was kyuubi? The almighty humongous beast he had met yesterday in a sewer? T-This...this couldn't be possible! What was happening here?

"W-What's going on? You're the k-kyuubi?" he asked in disbelief while she looked around in amusement.

"**Your mindscape sure undergoes a drastic change every time you leave your real body...I like it! Reminds me of the village I should've destroyed years ago!" **she exclaimed in glee while Naruto's pupils zoomed out in shock as he turned his head, gazing over the village while the sun was setting down.

"When I'm in m-my spiritual b-body...th-this is my...mindscape?"

**Here's where we pause. Surprised? Lol me too! XD**

**Anyway, the reason as to why Teuchi thinks that his Zanpakutou spirit is sealed with kyuubi, will be explained next chapter- which has already been written actually. If you can find the reason yourself, all the better. :D**

**Anyway, please review! I hope the story's moving along now and that the plot's becoming more interesting. :)**

**N6023**


	16. The Darkness Inside

**Chapter 16-The Darkness Inside...**

"W-What's going on? You're the k-kyuubi?" he asked in disbelief while she looked around in amusement.

"**Your mindscape sure undergoes a drastic change every time you leave your real body...I like it! Reminds me of the village I should've destroyed years ago!" **she exclaimed in glee while Naruto's pupils zoomed out in shock as he turned his head, gazing over the village while the sun was setting down.

"When I'm in m-my spiritual b-body...th-this is my...mindscape?" he whispered to himself in shock, his eyes wide in disbelief. What was going on here?

He then turned his head towards her smirking form, narrowing his eyes.

"I d-don't believe you, is this your work? The last time I ca-"

"**Oh please! Last time you must be in a gigai or something**," she spoke nonchalantly making him raise his eyebrows.

_'Well she's right, I was laying on the bed in a gigai back then. So this probably means I have two mindscapes. One is the sewer one when I have a physical body and the other is this...Konoha when I'm in my spirit form. And that black chain attaching her to yondaime's head must be the seal,'_ he thought with a serious expression when he noticed that the injury on his mid section had already been healed, much to his surprise.

"**Oh, looks like you heal faster in your spiritual form, huh Naruto-kun?**" kyuubi asked with a smirk making him glare at her.

"Listen you, I don't have time to play your games. If you hate shinigami and humans, that's your problem. If you hate me very much, its not my problem because honestly...," the blonde paused as he stood up, glaring at her.

"I should be the one hating you here," he spoke in a low tone, increasing his reiatsu to the max. Knowing that the yondaime sealed most of the spiritual essence of her chakra, he knew he had the advantage of his own large reiatsu here.

Kyuubi slid to her knees with a startled expression on her face as she started to breathe heavily making the blonde smirk.

"**Oh, so you want to play this game huh Naruto-kun?**" she questioned with a smirk when Naruto's eyes widened upon sensing a humongous pressure slam on him, only his own reiatsu preventing him from falling flat on the ground.

Kyuubi stood up as she smiled coldly at the shocked expression on the blonde's face.

"**Surprised ningen? Even though that fucking yondaime sealed off ninety five percent of my reiryoku, my five percent is enough for you. You should thank the yondaime for this, or you would've been nothing but paste in front of my real reiryoku reserves**," she uttered in an amused tone, her voice still demonic.

_'How does she know about reiryoku and such? She did say she has a history with shinigami, which means she does know almost everything regarding the spiritual aspect of our dimension here,'_ he pondered with a serious expression before remembering something.

_'Oji-san told me that my zanpakutou spirit is most likely sealed with the kyuubi, I don't see how could that be possible though,'_ he thought while kyuubi continued to stare at him in curiosity.

"**Why have you come here ningen? What do you want?**" she asked with a serious expression, surprising him at the sudden change in the aura around her.

Naruto found himself a bit unnerved as she gazed at him with her icy crimson orbs, both of their reiatsu fully unleashed as the ground began to crack a bit under the pressure.

"I'm here to awaken my shinigami powers," he stated with a grim expression making her raise an eyebrow.

"**Shinigami powers? How will you awaken them when you don't have them in the first place?**" she asked making him frown.

"I didn't ask for your input kyuubi," the blonde verbalized as he clenched his fists.

_'If my zanpakutou spirit really is sealed with kyuubi, it has to around or inside yondaime's head,'_ he thought.

"**Watch your tone...human**," kyuubi growled, her eyes narrowed as her typical foul aura spiked in the area, bloodlust emanating from her in waves, taking him aback.

_'Such hatred...this must be her chakra, even though it consists of mostly physical energy,'_ the whiskered blonde thought as he chose to ignore her, now closing his eyes, trying to sense for any other reiatsu signature except kyuubi's.

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber: Four Pillar Shaft**

Currently Teuchi and Kisuke were sitting cross-legged, both of them having grave expressions on their faces as they continued to maintain the bakudo. Naruto was sitting in the middle with a neutral expression on his face, his body covered in a cloak of red chakra with a single tail waving behind him.

"I think he has entered his inner world now," Kisuke spoke, his finger formed into an intricate hand sign, similar to Teuchi's as he too maintained the spell.

"Teuchi-san, you think we'll need to further loosen up the seal?" Hiruzen asked, currently sitting in front of a large scroll with his right hand's fingers in contact with it.

"No, this should be enough. Anymore can be dangerous, not only to us, but also to Naruto. From here on, it solely depends on his own willpower," the Ichiraku articulated as slight gusts of wind flowed around them in the shaft due to kyuubi's youki.

_'His zanpakutou spirit, it has to be inside the seal. After witnessing Naruto for years, I'm sure it's in the seal. I don't even know how the kid has shinigami powers in the first place. By all means, it should be impossible for him to have them, he's a pure human after all. Neither Minato nor Kushina had any shinigami powers. So it couldn't have been passed down to him genetically, the most logical bet is when kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto. Minato had summoned the spirit king that night, and that must have influenced Naruto in some way. Either he came in contact with the shinigami, or Minato somehow...which should be impossible to say the least, sealed a small part of the spirit king's powers in Naruto along with kyuubi. Either way, whenever the kid was high on negative emotions or angry, his shinigami powers always surfaced in the past besides kyuubi's foul aura leaking out. Even when he saved Mikoto during the Uchiha massacre, he again released some of his powers along with kyuubi's bloodlust. It's again a miracle he was able to do that while in his physical body with no training whatsoever.'_

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber**

"You think he'll be okay?" Ayame asked in a worried tone, currently standing on the edge along with Rangiku and Anko as they stared down into the shaft, Naruto's sitting form in the middle directly visible to them.

"Of course, Naruto has a will of iron. He should be alright," Anko spoke in a stern tone, but even she looked kind of nervous. This was her first time seeing kyuubi's chakra, and the feeling was just overwhelming, it held such intense negative energy.

"I believe in him, he'll pull through," Rangiku verbalized with a serious expression making Anko nod as the blonde lieutenant clenched her fists in anxiety.

_'Please be safe...Naruto/Naruto-kun,'_ both her and Ayame thought simultaneously, worried sick for the blonde sitting down there.

**Naruto's Soulscape**

_'Nothing...I can't sense anything except her reiatsu...'_ he thought with a frown, now opening his eyes, surprised to see kyuubi laying on the yondaime's head, gazing into the sky. Naruto blushed upon noticing her voluptuous assets rise and fall with her breathing. Even though they were smaller than Rangiku's, still...they were atleast D-cups.

_'Damn you! I'm becoming a pervert because of you two now,'_ he thought with a sigh, mentally referring to Ayame and Rangiku.

"Found your zanpakutou spirit Naruto-kun~?" she asked with a smirk in a sing-song tone, her voice returning to her melodious one as she continued to stare into the clouds.

Naruto's scowl however deepened at seeing the amused expression on his face.

"This is your doing huh? You're deliberately leaking all of your reiatsu so that I can't sense anyone else," he said as she turned her head to grin coldly at him.

"Maybe? You're gonna do something about it?" she questioned with a quirked eyebrow, daring him to attack her while Naruto grit his teeth.

"Listen you idiot, I don't have time to play your games. Oji-san, jiji and Urahara-san are giving their all out there and I can't waste any of my time with your nonsense!" the blonde growled making her narrow her eyes when she suddenly smirked again, taking him aback.

"Why? Want to go back to that bitch of yours? What was her name again...Rangiku? Ayame? Or was it Anko?" she asked as anger welled up inside Naruto who clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.

"Don' them in this, I'm warning you kyuubi," he quietly snarled, glaring at her with narrowed eyes as she turned herself, laying on her side while using her elbows to prop herself, her hand supporting her head.

"Oh? Is that so? And if I don't? You're going to kill me and then send me to that 'Shiroi-chan' of yours, that puny disgusting human?" kyuubi asked with a smirk as the blonde began to see red, his palms white due to him clenching his fists very hard.

"That bitch...who did she think she is? She had the guts to show her arrogance towards me? I wish I was the one to kill that disgusting creature," she stated with a sigh.

" .kyuubi!" he exclaimed with gritted teeth, his head lowered as he took deep breaths to calm himself.

Her eyes though widened a bit when she noticed lightning streaks beginning to crackle around his body.

"But I'm glad that bitch's out of the way now. Really, who wants a pathetic powerless human anyway? I'll never understand what you see in that whore...humans are such pi-"

**WHAM!**

The next thing kyuubi knew, she was kicked in the stomach by an enraged Naruto making her fly back at whooping speeds.

CLTTTRRRR!

She stopped in mid air abruptly when the chain reached it's length limit.

"**You fucking bitch! SHUT up or I'm gonna kill you!**" Naruto exclaimed in rage, his voice now hollow-like.

Kyuubi gritted her teeth in anger as she lifted her head for her eyes to widen, now standing in midair with black chains connecting her feet to the yondaime's head.

_'His eyes...'___she thought while lightning streaks danced around Naruto's body wildly.

Naruto's eyes were completely pitch black, including the sclera with a glowing purple 'bolt' in the center. His blonde locks were hovering wildly in midair, including the bangs on his forehead which were lifted due to the lightning.

Naruto's eyes however widened when he felt something, and the expression on kyuubi's face told him that she had sensed something too.

_'Wait...this foreign reiatsu...,'_ he thought with wide eyes, his anger slowly subsiding as the reiatsu signature began to dim too.

_'Shit...its getting faint!'_ he thought before closing his eyes while kyuubi stood there, eyeing the blonde in curiosity. She could attack again and pummel him into the ground right now, but this had caught her interest for now.

This presence, she had felt this presence several times in the past. Whenever Naruto got extremely angry, she could feel this reiatsu signature deep inside the seal. She had tried several times to find it, but to no avail.

_'Have to use __**reiraku **__(Spirit Threads)!_'_'_ Naruto thought frantically as the signature continued to dim. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his own reiryoku as the world went black. Two spiritual ribbons materialized in front of him as the blonde opened his eyes.

One was black while the other was red making him narrow his eyes in realization.

_'Red one is for the shinigami!' _he thought, remembering when Ayame had trained him in sensing reiatsu using reiraku.

_'If I can push my reiryoku through it, I can pull the source with me!'_

Noticing that the red ribbon was going back into the yondaime's head, the seal actually, Naruto quickly grabbed it in a blur, applying his reiryoku to it.

"Nghh!" the blonde exclaimed as he tried pulling it with all of his strength.

_'Damn it! What is this ribbon even made of? I can't...pull it!'_ thought Naruto, currently gritting his teeth with his reiatsu being at its maximum.

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber: Four Pillar Shaft**

"Teuchi, is this the reiatsu of the boy's zanpakutou spirit?" Kisuke asked loudly, a serious expression on his face. Naruto's body, besides being covered in a cloak of red chakra, had purple lightning streaks crackling around it as a mixture of red and purple glowing tint was visible on his skin and white kimono.

"Hai! This is it! I think he found it!" Teuchi yelled over the sounds of lightning while Hiruzen sat there with a serious expression on his face.

_'The fact that he found it probably means that he has already encountered kyuubi. Hope you're alright Naruto-kun,' _the Hokage thought as he lifted his fingers off the large scroll, knowing that he wouldn't be needing it anymore.

Kisuke however, was extremely intrigued by the jinchuriki. His reiatsu had increased even more when this lightning had appeared around his body.

_'This boy has the potential to surpass even the sotaicho. With this red energy of the beast inside him at his disposal along with his lightning natured zanpakutou, he could also very well surpass Yoruichi in speed if what Teuchi said is correct. I wonder how Ichigo's powers will match upto this boy,'_ Urahara thought with a rare grim expression as a single bead of sweat poured down the side of his face.

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber**

"Holy...what's that lightning covering him?" Anko asked with wide eyes while Rangiku and Ayame too continued to gaze down, not wanting to miss even a single thing.

_'This is the same reiatsu I've felt several times. But it was never this strong. Is he really doing it? But we are running the risk of breaking the seal,'_ Ayame thought as she glanced at the four crystal pillars around them.

**Naruto's Mindscape**

"Grgh! God...damn!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes closed while he was pulling on the ribbon with all his might as the ribbon continued to descend into the head.

His feet were currently sliding on the yondaime's carved head, muscles strained while the now solidified ribbon due to his reiryoku was tightly clutched in his hands.

_'Please please...why are you resisting me so much? The seal is already weakened, why can't I pull you now?'_ he mentally exclaimed in frustration. His hands began to slip making him curse.

Just when he was about to let it go...

His eyes widened upon feeling someone's hand on his hands making him snap open his eyes. Naruto's breathing hitched in his throat when he noticed just who was the standing beside him.

"K-Kyuubi?" he stuttered as a look of panic settled in his eyes, expecting a life threatening attack. Excited after sensing his zanpakutou, he had completely forgotten about the main threat here.

Kyuubi was standing beside him, her one hand on his while the other was holding the ribbon, a serious expression on her face. She began to pull with him making his eyes widen in shock.

"Wha-What are you doing?" the blonde asked making her look at him with cold eyes.

"Shut up human...or I'll kill you," she spoke making him gulp.

"Now pull you idiot," kyuubi uttered making him nod as both of them started to pull while red chakra began to leak from kyuubi. Naruto grew nervous though he still continued to pull as a chakra tail appeared behind her while she gritted her teeth, using her monstrous strength to pull the spiritual ribbon.

CRRRKK!

The blonde's eyes widened when cracks started to appear on the yondaime's head, purple light emanating from it as both of them continued to pull.

"**Pull more...you weakling!**" kyuubi exclaimed, gritting her teeth as she continued to pull.

"I am...pulling!" he spoke, eyes closed as he used all of his strength.

"NgrhhAHH!" he exclaimed, completely pulling the ribbon out now.

**BOOM!**

"Argh!" Naruto and kyuubi both exclaimed as they were pushed back when a huge purple pillar of lightning shot forth the yondaime's head into the sky.

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber: Four Pillar Shaft**

Everyone's eyes widened when Naruto's reiatsu spiked even more, going beyond a normal captain's level as Teuchi and Kisuke struggled a bit under sudden increase in pressure while Hiruzen was panting heavily now, pushed to the ground.

CRRKKK!

More lightning started to crack around Naruto's sitting body, purple now dominating red as the uncountable number of lightning streaks began to cover the chakra cloak.

Even Ayame and Rangiku had to combine their reiatsu to even stand amongst the mind boggling pressure with Anko standing behind them.

_'Kami...what is happening here?'_ the tokubetsu jounin thought with wide eyes as she wiped the sweat off his brow.

_'It seems he finally found it,' _Ayame, Teuchi, Rangiku and Kisuke thought simultaneously.

**Naruto's Mindscape**

WHOOSH!

"**Argh! L-Leave me you disgusting human!**" kyuubi exclaimed, her one eye closed as violent gusts of wind exuded out from the large pillar of lightning.

CLTTRR!

Her chain was stretched to its limit, holding her in place in midair with Naruto holding onto her waist from behind, his form now horizontal to the earth due to the high velocity of the wind. Both of their hair were swiveling wildly as the blonde kept a firm grip on her waist while the bijuu had the slightest tint of pink on her cheeks.

"J-Just hold on a second!" he yelled back, his arms tightly encircled around her waist. He was having trouble keeping his eyes opened due to the violent wind.

_'I just hope the seal doesn't break or we're dead,' _he thought, his face going pale at the possibility when suddenly something visibly shot from the yondaime's head, going high up in the sky.

The lightning column soon began to die down when the duo noticed the light intensity decreasing making them look upwards for their eyes to widen.

"Holy cow...where did these clouds come from so suddenly? It was a clear sunny day just a moment ago, what the hell happened?" he asked in shock.

"You tell me, you don't look sad to me right now," kyuubi spoke, her voice returning back to normal making him look at her in confusion.

"Sad?"

"Yeah, whene-"

...

...

She stopped abruptly as both of them stared at each other, now noticing their positions. Naruto's arms were currently encircling her waist from behind with the kyuubi's head resting resting on his chest as both of them stared at each other.

The blonde's face began to heat up as he gazed at her beautiful features from up close while kyuubi had a light pink tint on her cheeks which soon began to turn red.

"Why you little..." she growled.

Whoom!

Her punch hit thin air as Naruto, having sensed the danger signal, had flash stepped away from her just in time to appear in midair several meters away from her.

"How dare you lay your hands on me?" kyuubi fired, pointing an accusing finger at Naruto making him rub the back of his head, an embarrassed blush on his face as he chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he muttered while she seemed to be genuinely taken aback from his apology.

"Whatever, just don't do it again you disgusting human," she uttered off handedly making a vein pop on his forehead.

"Well you look like a woman too! So you're a human too! HA!" he yelled back making her left eye twitch.

"You dare compare me to to those bitches? I'm a bijuu, the strongest of them all!" she exclaimed making him sigh.

"Well now you look more of a human than any beast to me, so we'll settle on calling you onna-chan," he spoke with a smirk as kyuubi's face began to go red in anger.

"You slime! It's not my fault that I don't have tails or my original body in this form! This is just the spiritual manifestation of my soul! Besides, who would want to become a fucking human? You all are just lowly pests I can easily squash under my paw!" she yelled making the blonde grit his teeth in frustration.

"You and your racist attitude, god damn its so annoying! Is that the only thing you developed by living for a thousand years?" he exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger back at her with a frustrated on his face.

_'Besides your body that is...'_ he involuntarily thought, adding to his sentence when he realized just what he had thought making him blush as he cried anime tears inwardly.

_'Curse you two!'_ Naruto thought with a frown, again referring to Anko and Rangiku while kyuubi, having ignored him was currently staring upwards, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Tup!

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt something wet fall on his nose. Lifting his hand, he wiped his skin to notice the droplet of water on his index finger.

Soon more began to follow, the pace increasing as it suddenly started raining.

"I don't understand, why is it raining? You don't seem sad to me...," kyuubi spoke out loud in thought making him look at her.

"What do you mean I'm not sad? Does it always rain like this when I'm sad?" Naruto asked in confusion as she lowered her head to look at him, nodding at his question.

"Whenever you're sad, it rains. The heavier the amount of grief you're feeling, the heavier is the rainfall," she answered making his eyes widen as the rain continued to get heavy.

"It rained quite heavily when that human Shiroi left," kyuubi continued making his eyes soften as he lowered his pupils a bit.

_'Though it never rained this much since he became a shinigami,'_ kyuubi thought, a grim expression on her face. Both of their forms were completely wet now.

**THDRRR!**

A flash of light made them snap their heads upwards as the clouds began to thunder violently.

"What's going on here? This must be because of that lightning pillar that had shot up into the sky," Naruto pondered loudly while kyuubi scowled as she kept staring upwards.

Her eyes though widened when a particular large cloud over them started to darken visibly while Naruto too began to gaze at it in curiosity, somewhat intimidated by the 'nature's wrath'.

_'This reiatsu...,'_ both of them thought simultaneously when.

**BHDRRR!**

An exploding thunder took place just after a large bolt of lightning struck the shodaime's head while Naruto and kyuubi covered their eyes with their elbows due to the excess of lightning, the sky now completely dark.

_'What...is going on here? I was lucky I wasn't hit by that,'_ he thought, now opening his oceanic blue eyes slowly along with kyuubi.

It continued to rain as they stared at the 'circular' fire caused by the lightning strike. Smoke was arising from its center as the duo gazed intently at the fire, now sensing the reiatsu in that smoke screen.

Naruto's heart however was beating rapidly as he continued to stare into the smoke.

_'Could it be? Is this my zanpakutou spirit?'_ he thought, waiting anxiously for the smoke to clear up as the fire started to die down due to the rain.

Kyuubi's eyes however were widened in shock.

_'Such negative emotions...the intensity of them, is overwhelming for a human!'_ she thought, having the ability to sense the negative emotions in anyone as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face despite the cold rain.

"**So you were able to free me, huh Naruto?**"

This made the blonde's breathing hitch in his throat upon hearing the voice. It was that of a hollow's with a mixture of a feminine one, but it was the emotions in that voice that made him freeze on the spot.

It held so much sadness, anger, frustration...just about all the negative emotions the blonde had ever felt.

Kyuubi however had a serious expression on her face as she stared at the spot while the smoke started to clear. She then closed her eyes as a sigh escaped her lips.

_'I see now...so this is what I've been sensing all these years, something which continued to grow over the years,'_ she thought, now opening her eyes to glance at the frozen look on the blonde's face.

_'Things are going to get extremely difficult for him,'_ the bijuu thought as the smoke abruptly cleared with a sudden gust of wind.

...

_'Kami...'_ Naruto thought in shock while kyuubi couldn't help but be completely taken aback by the appearance of the person standing on the nidaime's head.

"**We meet at last...Naruto**," the person spoke calmly, her eyes icy cold.

_'She's...just a kid,'_ kyuubi thought, now coming over her shock as she began to notice the girl's feature.

Her height was equal to that of the twelve year Naruto, long red hair which reached her knees with some thin blonde streaks in it. Her hair were parted at the forehead using a purple clip as they framed her face nicely. Her eyes, the sclera was pitch black with a red 'bolt' in the middle signifying her pupil making kyuubi sure of her speculations.

_'Yeah, this girl is his zanpakutou spirit alright,'_ the bijuu thought, remembering the transformation Naruto's eyes had undergone a few minutes earlier. Her face had a little baby fat, being a bit curvy.

Her attire consisted of a purple sleeveless jacket with a strange black sign printed right above her heart, somewhat high-neck collared with a half-sleeve red shirt beneath the jacket. Her forearms were covered with thin black fabrics, purple lightning streaks printed on them. These forearm fabrics were connected to the hem of her half sleeves by means on two thin maroon strips on each arm. Coming to her lower body, she was wearing a dark grey skirt reaching to just above her knees with two side flaps extended down to her upper shin. Just like her forearms, her shins were also covered in thin black fabrics with purple lightning streaks printed on them.

Naruto was currently staring into her eyes, eyes which were glaring at him, as cold as ice.

The sight of her, standing there in a crater, water dripping down her form, black sclera'ed eyes filled with hate, lightning streaks crackling wildly around her body with half of her face shadowed was a pretty intimidating sight.

**THDRRR!**

The clouds roared thunderously, as yet another lightning struck the Hokage's tower this time while the purple flash because of the lightning momentarily lighted her face, unnerving him even more.

"**Why did you free me, Naruto?**" she asked calmly, her cold intense eyes fixated on him, not blinking even once.

Clenching his fists, water droplets falling down the bangs in front of his forehead, he asked...

"A-Are you my zanpakutou spirit?" the blonde cursed inwardly for the stutter while kyuubi eyed him with a grim expression on her face.

"Nrgh!" Naruto exclaimed in reflex when he felt a monstrous pressure drop on him, immediately pushing him down on his knees as he tried to breath.

_'This reiatsu...is unreal. How is this possible? A zanpakutou spirit is said to be as strong as the person hosting it...but her reiatsu easily surpasses Naruto's. And it feels like a hollow, such dark energy,'_ kyuubi thought, barely standing on her wobbly knees as she too found herself sweating under this crazy display of power.

"**I'm the one asking questions here Naruto. Why...did you free me?**" the red haired person questioned with gritted teeth, toning down her reiatsu as Naruto panted to catch his breath.

_'Th-This is not a kid. This crazy power, is my zanpakutou spirit this strong?'_ he thought with wide eyes, his pupils zoomed out in mind numbing shock as he stared at the ground.

He suddenly felt his white kimono being grabbed roughly as the blonde was forced to turn to his left to come face to face with the red headed female. The blonde froze when he found himself staring in those black cold eyes, piercing him like a knife through butter.

"**You didn't answer my question**," she uttered with narrowed eyes, her grip on his kimono tightening.

_'Did she use shunpo? One second she was standing there and the next she just vanishes to appear in front of him, there were no traces of her reiatsu in her path. It couldn't be pure speed! No one's that fast!'_ kyuubi thought as she gazed at the duo in front of her in anticipation.

Naruto however, continued to stare in the red haired girl's eyes in confusion.

_'Why do you have such eyes? Why are they filled with such malice and hate? Did...did kyuubi do this to you?'_ the blonde narrowed his eyes as he turned his head to glare at the bijuu making her raise an eyebrow before he felt his chin being grabbed roughly.

"**Uzumaki Naruto! WHY did you set me free?**" the girl asked harshly in her hollow voice, glaring at the blonde as another thunder took place.

Narrowing his eyes, the whiskered blonde answered.

"I want to become a shinigami," his voice stern when she instantly loosened her grip on his kimono, taking several steps back as the girl lowered her head.

"**I see...so you want to become a shinigami huh?**" she muttered in a low voice, her eyes now shadowed making Naruto look at her curiously.

A cold chuckle escaped her lips making him narrow his eyes. She started to chuckle lightly, shaking her head as it soon turned into laughter.

"**AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHA!**" her cold laughter echoed throughout the area as he stood up, glancing at kyuubi who just shrugged, not having an idea of what was so funny.

Soon her laughter died down as she continued to chuckle to herself.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked making her point at him.

"**You Naruto, you're funny. A weakling like you, shinigami? You've gotta be kidding me!**" she spat making him clench his fists.

"What's wrong with me being a shinigami? What's your problem anyway? I thought zanpakutou spirits and users were supposed to be friends! Why are you acting with such hostility?" he snapped, now frustrated of her strange behavior.

The girl was in front of him in a flash now. Grabbing his collar, she reared her right fist making Naruto's eyes widen as he stayed in place. She gritted her teeth, her fist covered with lightning streaks still held back as she pulled him closer, their faces just inches away from each other.

"**YOU! . ! The saint Uzumaki Naruto who forgives everyone no matter how they treat him! The weak hearted fool who doesn't have the strength to stand up against the difficulties in his life! The idiot who just keeps sitting on the yondaime's head, crying to himself instead of DOING something about it! The bastard who wants to become the Hokage for this pathetic village!**" she yelled, her eyes and voice exuding so much hate and malice while kyuubi smirked to herself.

_'I like this girl. We share common goals it seems.'_

Meanwhile,Naruto stared back at the red head in shock, taken aback by this sudden revelation.

"**You just stand there, accepting whatever garbage they throw at you with open arms! You just laid there as they kicked you mercilessly! You just sat there alone, as others played and had fun with their families! You did NOTHING about it! Just smiling about it all day like an idiot and pulling fucking good for nothing pranks! You just compressed your emotions! You buried them deep inside!**" she exclaimed loudly while Naruto was stunned speechless at what she was saying, just staring at her with wide eyes without blinking as tears started to pour down her cheeks while she tightened her grip on him.

"**They hurt us! They tortured us! They abandoned us, every single one of them! THEY DESTROYED OUR CHILDHOOD!**" she shouted, panting a bit as her warm tears mixed with the cold droplets of the rain.

"**It hurts! It hurts so much! But you don't do anything about it! And you know what? A weakling like you could never do so! You just don't have the guts to stand up for yourself! All you can do is forgive them because you simply don't have the power to get back at them! All you can do is go for that insignificant, utterly useless dream of becoming Hokage, to do what, just to gain some fucking recognition? Or what, to protect these villagers? To protect this hell hole?" **she screamed, bringing down her left hand violently when a huge lightning struck the middle of the village, decimating several buildings, surprising kyuubi all the more.

Her hot breath combined with cool breeze tickled his face as Naruto gazed sideways with saddened eyes.

"**Answer me!**" she yelled making him shift his pupils to stare into her eyes.

"I see now...so all that hate and anger I had kept buried deep inside me, its taken over you huh?" he spoke softly making her narrow her eyes as she tightened her grip on him. The jinchuriki had a melancholic look on his face as he stared downwards, the cold droplets of water falling endlessly on them while kyuubi stood quietly, an amused expression on her face.

"I...I understand, I was the one who bore all of it after all," he started as she gazed at him intently.

"On the outside I may have not showed any hatred towards them, but I knew that...deep down I hated them. But, I don't hate the village," he spoke softly, his voice barely audible over the pitter patter of the rain as the red headed person gritted her teeth.

"Because in this village, there are people that are precious to m-"

"**FUCK THEM!**" the jinchuriki had a soft look in his eyes as his zanpakutou spirit exploded verbally.

"**All of them are same! No one can ever understand us! In the end, they're all the same! You don't realize that by inviting them in, you're inviting more suffering, more pain!" **she yelled, her wet hair somewhat sticking to her forehead while Naruto turned his head to look into her eyes.

"**Just like Shiroi, they're gonna leave us! Every single one of them! Didn't you learn by the pain Shiroi caused you? Do you want to feel it again?**" this made Naruto's heart clench as he closed his eyes.

"No, you're wrong," he muttered as he gently grabbed her hands making her eyes widen a bit.

"Its not because of the pain of having my bonds severed that I cherish my precious people so much, rather its the joy of solidifying those bonds, the love that comes with it," he spoke as her grip loosened on him while he still held her cold hands gently.

Naruto smiled warmly as he stared into her black eyes.

"Here, look into my eyes...," he started, her mouth opening a bit as he leaned in while an uncomfortable expression formed on her face.

"Do I look like I'm lonely, like I'm in pain?" he asked with a smile, his eyes exuding warmth and love as she gazed into his intense oceanic pools.

Naruto lifted his hands to further rest them gently on her cheeks making the girl stiffen while he smiled comfortingly at her, her eyes widening at the contact.

"Do you think I'm hurting now?" he asked softly, wiping her cheeks as more tears began to leak down her cheeks.

"**But about me, l-look into my eyes...d-do you think I'm happy Naruto?**" she asked in a low voice this time, her voice quivering as the blonde's expression saddened at that, though he did not break eye contact from her.

"I'm sorry...its all my fault that you're feeling like that. You're the one bearing all my negative emotions when I should have done that," he uttered, wiping her fresh tears as she narrowed her eyes.

"**Sorry? What does that even do? If those villagers say sorry, would y-**"

Her eyes widened when the blonde suddenly hugged her tightly, his arms wrapped around her neck.

"I will show you what love is, I will show you happiness and joy. Don't worry, you don't have to bear my burdens alone anymore...we'll do it together," his gentle voice entering her ears as she stood there frozen, her tears mixed with the rain drops falling off her chin while kyuubi had a neutral expression on her face as she watched the duo before sighing to herself.

_'Just when I thought we were gonna see some bloodshed, this happens.'_

The redhead stuffed her face in his shoulders as she wrapped her little arms around his waist.

"**I-It hurts so much Na-Naruto...please, **h-help me," she mumbled, sniffing into his white kimono as she hugged him tightly while Naruto's eyes widened when he noticed her voice losing its 'hollow' touch.

A look of surprise came across kyuubi's face when she noticed his white kimono slowly being covered by the black shinigami garb.

_'What is this?'_ kyuubi thought in shock when she saw something white coming out from the base of the red haired girl's feet.

"I'm here, you don't have to get hurt anymore. We will share this burden together," Naruto whispered as he gently sifted his hand through her long wet hair, smiling lightly.

"You already know my name I guess...but what's your name?" he asked with a smile making her stiffen a bit in the hug.

"I...I don't know," she answered making him pull himself out of the hug in surprise.

"Y-You don't know?" he asked like a gaping fish making her shake her head innocently, a cute expression on her face, also noticing that the earlier 'red' bolt in her eyes was a glowing purple one now.

He scratched his head awkwardly, also noticing that the rain had started to decrease.

_'But oji-san said that in order to unlock my shikai, I need to know my zanpakutou spirit's name. What am I going to do now?'_ he thought with a sigh, still not noticing his black garb as he turned towards kyuubi while the red haired girl kept looking at him in innocent curiosity, no longer producing that aura of hate and malice.

Naruto adopted a confused expression on his face when he noticed kyuubi look down at something with a serious expression on her face.

_'What is she...' _his thoughts trailed as he lowered his head to look in the direction of her sight, only for his eyes to widen upon seeing a grinning figure standing on the roof of hokage's tower, staring at him.

"**Yo there...king!"**

**And this is where we stop! Naruto's zanpakutou spirit, I know...not someone anyone of you might be expecting (not badass?), but don't worry...she is badass, I have drawn her already. Just wait a bit till I upload it on dA. Besides, its not like she'll remain a girl when he achieves Shikai and Bankai. :)**

**Anyway, she is badass...you'll see. :D**

**Well, see you guys next week then! XD**

**N6023**


	17. The Nameless Zanpakutou

**Chapter****17****- The Nameless Soul Slayer**

_'__But oji-san said that in order to unlock my shikai, I need to know my zanpakutou spirit's name. What am I going to do now?'_ he thought with a sigh, still not noticing his black garb as he turned towards kyuubi while the red haired girl kept looking at him in innocent curiosity, no longer producing that aura of hate and malice.

Naruto adopted a confused expression on his face when he noticed kyuubi looking down at something with a serious expression on her face.

_'What is she...' _his thoughts trailed as he lowered his head to look in the direction of her sight, only for his eyes to widen upon seeing a grinning figure standing on the roof of hokage's tower, staring at him.

"**Yo there...king!**"

The red haired girl turned her head abruptly to stare at the figure standing below him, a malevolent grin on his face. Her eyes narrowed while Naruto stood up, putting a curtain of calm expression on his face.

"Who's he?" he asked in a low tone as the girl clenched her fist as she glanced at the blonde standing behind her through the corner of her eyes.

"One of us...," she simply replied making his eyes widen a bit when he suddenly felt the pressure increase around him by several times.

"**I'm talking to you king...or should I say, hokage?**"

Naruto instantly vanished to appear several meters in front of the hokage's office roof, a grim expression on his face.

_'Yeah...so he's my darkness huh? No mistake, this reiatsu, its pure hollow,'_ he thought, now gazing at his look alike intently as he examined his features carefully.

It was a clone of Naruto with the distinguishable features being his black spiky hair and eyes with black sclera and a small red dot-like pupil in the middle. His shinigami garb was white with a plain black kimono underneath it, opposite to that of Naruto's attire.

"**So...we meet after all**," the hollow Naruto spoke making the blonde scrunch his eyes. He did not like that grin of his counterpart's face. It was crazy, and reeked of bloodlust and hate.

"I presume you're my negative side who had taken control of my zanpakutou spirit?" Naruto asked, clenching his fists while the grin on the hollow's face widened, becoming more maniacal if possible.

"And you want to take over me now that you're free from the seal?" Naruto lips were curled down while the hollow whistled.

"**You catch on fast hokage**," the hollow walked forward to lean on the fence of the roof making the blonde stiffen somewhat. It wasn't raining now but the sky was still covered with grey clouds.

The grin on the hollow's face slowly vanished to be replaced by a smirk as he kept staring into Naruto's cold electric blue eyes, a tense silence stretching between the two. The whiskered blonde opened his mouth to speak when the hollow interrupted him.

"**Now let me guess what you want**," his hair being ruffled by the cool breeze.

_'Oji-san told me to make sure that kyuubi didn't get out of the seal but this...could be even worse,'_ Naruto thought while the hollow's elbows were resting on the railing.

"**You already have awakened your shinigami powers, but there must be something that's missing huh?**" this made Naruto raise his eyebrows as he glanced at his arm, and sure enough, he was now wearing the customary black garb over his kimono. However, his eyes widened a bit when he realized something.

_'Where's my...'_

"**Zanpakutou?**"

He snapped his head back to see the hollow smirking at him.

"**Hmm...where's your zanpakutou?**" a mocking expression on his face as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"Where is it? Where's my zanpakutou?" Naruto asked loudly, his reiatsu at its maximum while the hollow just grinned at him.

_'This guy seriously is bad news...'_

Naruto knees buckled when the hollow increased his reiatsu further. A look of surprise crossed the blonde's face when several small lightning streaks began to crackle around the hollow's body.

"**Maybe...its in my possession?**" the hollow verbalized, opening his right hand a bit wide.

Naruto's breathing hitched in his throat when he noticed a long standard katana materialize in the hollow's hand.

"**Is this it? Looks a normal katana to me though**," the hollow uttered as lightning streaks started to dance around the katana.

_'No...this is my zanpakutou, I can recognize its reiatsu now. It feels so familiar,_' Naruto thought as he continued to gaze at the sealed zanpakutou...no, it definitely wasn't a standard one, how could he have missed the lightning streaks around its long blade?

_'And the hilt...'_ his thoughts trailed as he concentrated his eyes on the unusual hilt. One-third part of it, the top part seemed to be made of pure lightning with two black ribbons tied to it as they flowed with the wind. The remaining portion of the hilt, the longer one was pitch black in color with a purple lightning bolt on it. Two ribbons, made purely of lightning were tied to its base as they too ruffled with the breeze.

"**Quite an unusual sight for a sealed zanpakutou huh? But I guess you should get used to it. Shikai seems to be out of your reach now, huh hokage?**" the hollow Naruto mocked with a grin making the blonde lift his eyes to stare at him, surprise evident in his blue pools.

"What do you mean? Is it because of the fact that I don't her name?" Naruto articulated, pointing at the red haired girl above them with his thumb.

"**Correction, neither you or she knows her name. Guess, being sealed for so long, she forgot huh?**"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, only the slight howling of wind and the crackling sounds of lightning now audible.

"Judging by that irritating grin on your face, I can tell that you know it," the jinchuriki said making the hollow laugh coldly. He lifted the zanpakutou making Naruto more wary of him before stabbing into the concrete of the roof, a crazy gleam in his eyes.

"**Watch this!**" the hollow exclaimed while Naruto was forced to his knees due to the sudden spike in the hollow's reiatsu.

The blonde lifted his eyes as the zanpakutou started to glow purple.

Crrkkh!

Chunks of earth from the roof started to elevate, cracks appearing on the surface while the hollow was grinning maniacally now. He liked that look of surprise on Naruto's face.

"**Raiju...Kirichira! **(Promiscuous Slash of the Thunder Beast)"

The stabbed zanpakutou started to glow dark purple in color while the red haired girl, who was standing above them took a startling step back, her eyes widened in shock.

_'How does he know...?'_

The grin never left the hollow's face as the building started to rumble while Naruto stood up on his wobbly knees, sweat pouring down the side of his face as he gazed at the building with wide eyes while the glow continued to increase in intensity resulting in a purplish tint on the area.

"W-What are you doing?" he asked as the hollow's grin widened even further.

_'Shit!'_ the red haired girl thought as she blurred away from the hokage's office.

**BOOM!**

A _large_ purple explosion took place, completely covering the hokage's office.

"Grgh!" Naruto was sent flying back at blistering speeds due to the shockwave. Violent gusts of howling winds rustled the trees, uprooting them while several other buildings further away from the Hokage Tower took the explosive damage too.

_'The idiot...did that hollow just commit suicide?'_ kyuubi thought with a frown, standing on the other side of yondaime's head (his right side when viewing from the front) to shield herself from the blast. She tilted her head downwards, staring at the building on which Naruto had crashed into.

A smirk took birth on her face when Naruto pushed himself out of the rubble.

_'Well, things are definitely getting interesting,'_ she thought, licking her lips in anticipation.

Meanwhile, Naruto cursed inwardly as he stood on his wobbly knees.

_'Dammit! Why do all the abnormalities in the world are related to me? Its not like I'm the hero an infamous manga series!'_ the blonde thought in frustration as he dusted off his shinigami garb, now a bit torn in several places.

He rubbed his eyes to get rid of the dust as his vision slowly cleared.

"W-What?"

The blonde felt the ground slipping from beneath his feet, his body frozen as he stared at the scene in front of him. The Hokage Tower was completely decimated, not even a speckle of it left while purple flames were surrounding the destroyed area.

He flash stepped to stand high in the sky for a better view, his eyes widening even more upon noticing a large 'hole' in the ground, now replacing the Hokage Tower. He couldn't even see the end of it, it was just pitch black, like an empty void with purple flames surrounding it.

_'What the...hell? Is my zanpakutou...that strong?' _he thought with wide eyes when he felt the sudden appearance of a reiatsu behind him.

"**Awesome, isn't it?**"

WHOOSH!

Naruto narrowly dodged the horizontal slash as he skidded back on the reishi floor. He had a surprised expression on his face, now noticing that there was a large gash on his garb in the front due to the attack.

"**Oh, good reflexes hokage. I didn't expect you to dodge that one**," the hollow spoke, standing there completely unharmed with the zanpakutou in his right hand, loosely held by his side.

"You're alive?" Naruto exclaimed making the hollow burst out in laughter as the blonde gritted his teeth.

"**Of course I'm alive! You think I'd be hurt by my own attack?**" it exclaimed, further confusing Naruto. His attack or anyone else's attack, that blast was supposed to burn every single cell of his body.

"Tell me my zanpakutou's name," he demanded with narrow eyes making the hollow grin.

"**Stupid question hokage, if you want her name, you have to beat me!**"

Kyuubi was currently standing on the yondaime's head, a serious expression on his face as she gazed at the duo standing up there in the sky.

She shifted her pupils when the red haired girl appeared beside her to stand on the monument, a grim expression on her face.

_'How is she moving so fast? She isn't using Shunpo, I'm sure of that. Neither is it Sonido...this must be related to her lightning abilities,'_ the bijuu thought as she eyed the red haired girl curiously, who currently was staring upwards at the duo.

"Need something?"

Kyuubi raised her eyebrows at the girl's question, getting irritated by the hostility in her tone. How dare this little girl talk to her, the strongest of the bijuu like that?

"You do know that I can kill you any second like the **little pest you are?**" her voice got demonic at the end, trying to intimidate the teen, emanating her patented 'pants wetting' bloodlust.

The red haired girl however stood unfazed as she glanced at the older woman.

"Be my guest," her black sclera'ed eyes were staring coldly into the crimson pools, no hint of fear in them.

Kyuubi smirked as she closed her eyes, chuckling to herself while the girl turned her eyes back towards the sky.

Swoosh!

Her red chakra tail, which had appeared out of no where hit thin air, the girl no longer standing there.

"Too slow...kyuubi," the girl uttered calmly while the bijuu's eyes were widened in shock. The girl was sitting on her shoulders! This damn, disgusting human was...

"**Why you little...!**" her clawed hands again hit thin air.

"You're open..." she snapped her head downwards, the girl standing in front of her with her extended fist touching her stomach.

_'This girl...'_ kyuubi thought as a single bead of sweat rolled down her face.

_'Its all because of this damn seal! If it had been a bit more loose, I would have torn this insect to shreds!'_ she thought, staggering back as her arms went to her sides, her eyes narrowed.

"Why didn't you attack me?" curiosity now getting the better of her.

"I will, if you ever hurt Naruto in the future," her voice cold, not that it was much of a surprise. She was his zanpakutou spirit after all.

The girl however again vanished, leaving only minor static charges in the air only to appear some distance away to catch a falling Naruto.

"Ngh!" the blonde exclaimed when he felt someone catch him, both the forms skidding downwards due to the momentum.

He applied more reiryoku to his feet, feeling two hands on his back as they skid to a stop just above the large hole.

"You alright...Naruto?" the blonde turned his head to see the red haired girl making him nod, the slash on his chest already healing.

"How does he have the zanpakutou?" he asked with a sigh, lifting his head to see his hollow grinning at him.

"He was with me all the time, I think he got control of my powers," she said with a sigh while the jinchuriki rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

"And how could you forget your name in the first place?" he asked in exasperation making her smile sheepishly.

"I...don't know, it just, sorta happened. Being in the seal since I was born...I don't know," the redhead replied with a sad sigh, rubbing the back of her neck in thought while her face was lowered. Noticing the down look on her face, he smiled softly.

"Hey, no problem. I'm sure I can beat the shit out of him," he uttered gently, putting a hand on her stiffened shoulders making her lift her head, giving him a small smile.

Kyuubi, who was standing on the edge of the yondaime's head had her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

_'Well, this is interesting. Her personality completely changes when she's with Naruto. Is she bipolar or something?' _the bijuu considered, amused at this possible revelation to say the least.

"Now how do I get my zanpakutou back? Even with my shinigami powers back, I can't fight effectively without it," Naruto muttered to himself, watching his hollow standing high in the sky- the clouds now slowly clearing up.

"You're wrong...in the real world, you already have the zanpakutou by your side," at this the jinchuriki snapped his head, a befuddled expression on his face.

"What?"

"Just what I said," she deadpanned making him sweatdrop before he composed himself.

"Then what the hell I'm even fighting that psycho for? I should leave my mindscape now," he sighed to himself.

"**You gonna stand there all day and talk to her hokage?**" the duo turned their heads to see the hollow Naruto standing in front of them, a dark smirk on his face.

"You don't know my name, are you alright with that Naruto?" the red haired girl said, glancing at the blonde standing beside her.

Naruto kept staring forward as he narrowed his eyes.

"No, I do need your name, that's the only way I can unlock shikai," he spoke making her lower her head while the hollow grinned.

"**So you want to know her name? A weakling like you isn't ready hokage**," the hollow Naruto verbalized, now lifting the lightning katana in front of him. Grabbing the hilt such that the tip of the blade was facing downwards, the katana in front of him; he put his left hand on the top 'lightning' part of the hilt, which had two black ribbons tied to it.

"**Watch**," Naruto stood there, eyeing his dark self in curiosity while the red haired girl knew what was coming.

Lightning began to pop around his sealed zanpakutou as the hollow pulled on the 'lightning' part of his hilt.

Naruto's eyes slowly widened when another katana came out, its hilt made of pure lightning with the blade being made of metal. The original zanpakutou, out of which the katana was pulled now had its blade made of pure lightning with its polished hilt being normal- pitch black with a purple glowing insignia of 'bolt' on it while two ribbons made of pure lightning were tied to it.

"**Classy, isn't it?**" the hollow grinned as the blonde kept gazing at the dual katana now, a stunned expression on his face.

"W-What does this mean?" he asked shakily while the redhead sighed.

"That's another one of my abilities. I guess he really knows everything about me," a frown on her face while the hollow stood with a zanpakutou in each hand.

"Let's get him together," Naruto murmured with a serious expression, preparing to fight. He knew that, without any katana, he was at a serious disadvantage against a dual-sword wielding opponent.

"No"

He whizzed his head to see the defiant look on her face.

"Why not?" he asked with a scowl as she closed her eyes.

"Because this is a test...for you to achieve shikai," she said, opening her eyes to gaze at the hollow.

"A test?...Is this some kind of a joke? We're in a serious situation now. There's a hollow freely roaming inside of me! We have use all of our strength to get rid of him!" he fired back in a restrained tone making her look at him sharply.

"He's not a hollow Naruto. He's the darkness inside of you, the negative side of you, just like every person has. Its just that such intense is the darkness in you, that it has finally taken shape, and that its reiatsu feels like that of a hollow. Without him, you're incomplete, just like yin and yang. You can't kill it, you can't rid of it," she explained as he sighed to himself, quite surprised at the seriousness in her voice.

"How am I supposed to cope with this then? How am I even supposed to defeat him and get to know your name?" he asked in exasperation while her black eyes softened.

"It's upto you to find the answer Naruto. This is your fight, he's a part of you after all," she mumbled before vanishing in a blur making him rub the back of his neck.

_'It baffles me as to how the heck she's so fast, and without the use of any type of teleportation technique at that,' _he thought.

"**Here I COME!**" his eyes widened when the hollow dashed towards him at neckbreaking speeds, a barely visible blur to the blonde's eyes.

Swoosh!

He flashstepped back, narrowly dodging a slash aimed at his midsection.

"**Your movements are way too predictable hokage**," his blood ran cold upon hearing an amused dark voice behind him.

SWOSH!

Blood sprayed out into the air as the lightning blade ripped through flesh.

Naruto appeared several meters away via shunpo, blood dripping down his left hand- a deep gash running from the top of his shoulder to his rib cage. He kneeled down in pain with a jerk, feeling the wounded area going numb.

"**Feeling numb?**" the blonde lifted his head, his one eye closed as he gritted his teeth. The dark Naruto grinned as pointed the katana with the lightning blade at him.

"**That's what you get when get sliced by this one**," he pointed out, referring to the lightning blade with a smirk on his face.

Naruto didn't even have time to react when his dark counterpart again blurred out of his vision, leaving some lightning sparks behind.

SQUELCH!

"AAGH!" Naruto exclaimed in pain as this time his back was sliced resulting in more blood splashing into the air, the blonde further staggering on his knees as he struggled to maintain the reishi floor beneath him.

"**And this...**" he opened his one eye, feeling excruciating pain on his back as the metal blade touched his left cheek, blood flowing from its tip, dripping down his left cheek.

"**...is what you feel when you're attacked by this blade**," the hollow said in a low tone as Naruto growled in anger.

At surprising speeds, he performed a backstab kick, using his already planted elbows on the reishi platform as the support...only to hit thin air as he leaped to his feet.

"**Heh, you can't surprise me. For others, you may be an unpredictable weakling but for me...you're just way too predictable!**" the grin on the dark Naruto's face couldn't have been wider while the blonde continued to pant, wiping the thick trail of blood down his left cheek.

_'This is bad, he's just way too fast! I can't keep up with him at all!'_ Naruto thought while he could feel his wounds being healed, but it hurt like a bitch!

Meanwhile, kyuubi was sporting a smirk on her face as she licked her lips.

_'Now that's what I call a good show, spill some more blood!'_ she cheered mentally, enjoying the scent of Naruto's blood that she could smell this far away through her sharp senses.

She glanced at the chain that was restraining her to the yondaime's head in what seemed to be irritation.

_'And this damn seal...it again tightened just now. What the fuck is going on anyway?' _she thought before turning her head back with a sigh, also noticing that the red haired girl too was observing the fight with an impassive look on her face.

_'Hmm...what a strange creature. Sometimes she gets sad and all depressed, then instantly she gets happy, she then gets cold, then turns angry, arrogant...really, anything related to this ningen is not normal, except me of course,'_ the bijuu thought with a frown as she shifted her attention back to the battle down there.

_'I have to try though,'_ Naruto thought as he lifted his hand, his palm now facing the hollow.

"**Hado no Sanjusan: So-**"

"**Sokatsui!**" Dark Naruto exclaimed, his lightning blade pointed at the blonde as it shot an extremely fast ball of purple flames, lightning crackling around it!

Naruto had no time to dodge, his eyes widening in reflex as the ball was at him in a flash, exuding a blinding purple glow.

Kyuubi's smirk widened as the ball hit Naruto dead on resulting in a bright flash with an explosive sound. She squinted her eyes to notice his form descending towards the ground, smoke arising out of his body.

BHPRSSHH!

The blonde crashed into the ground, his eyes barely opened with the most of his shinigami garb torn in front, showing his bare damaged upper body. Blood had leaked down his chin, his breathing coming in ragged whiffs as he laid there motionless, having created a crater beneath him due to his fall in one of the streets of Konoha.

"**You idiot, you really thought a lightning ****Kido**** like Sokatsui would work against me, ****who has**** a lightning zanpakutou?**" the hollow Naruto uttered, appearing in a blur as he stood over the barely conscious form of Naruto.

"**Seems you failed this time, huh hokage?**" he spoke, the smirk now leaving his face as he fused the two katana back resulting in a purple glow. Holding the zanpakutou a bit above Naruto's gut- its blade facing the flesh, the hollow spoke with a small grin as he released the zanpakutou.

"**Better luck next time...hokage**"

**SQUICH!**

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber: Four Pillar Shaft**

Naruto opened his eyes with a snap, panting heavily while sweat was trickling down his face.

"Uzumaki-san, are you alright?" the blonde lifted his head, a look of surprise registering on his face as he stared at the serious expression on Kisuke's face.

"U-Ura..." his throat was dry, now coughing as he leaned forward, supporting himself on his hands. His eyes were still wide, lifting his right hand to run it over his gut only to feel the soft fabric of his shinigami garb. Something pointy poking his stomach gave out the startling realization that he was holding a standard katana in his right hand.

"Naruto...you okay there?" lifting his head at hearing the concerned voice he recognized as Teuchi's, he scanned his surroundings.

His eyes widened when he noticed a panting Hiruzen staring back at him with a worried expression, the large scroll now lying by his side, already closed up.

Further twisting his neck, he was greeted to Teuchi's concerned expression, the blonde still panting as he wiped his sweaty forehead.

_'I'm back in the real world I guess...but, it felt so...'_

"Naruto!"

"Naruto-kun!"

Multiple shouts pulled him out of his trance-like state as the jinchuriki stood shakily on his knees.

He was about to fall, his knees giving up when two arms held his arms, a third arm supporting his stomach as his hazy vision got clearer.

"Hey, you okay?" he was met with a worried expression on Anko's face. The blonde would've laughed hysterically if not for the situation, it did not suit the purple haired kunoichi anyway, not with her personality at least.

"Naruto..." a sweet voice entered his right ear making him turn his head to notice Rangiku's extremely concerned expression, he could tell she was worried sick for him.

"I-I'm fine...," he wheezed out, his voice hoarse when he felt something relaxing affecting his head.

"No you're not...just be still Naruto-kun," yep, that was his sweet and always caring 'Ayame-chan'.

"Here..." he concentrated his vision to notice Anko offering him a water bottle, silently asking him to open his mouth.

His eyes half-lidded, Naruto smirked lightly as he sloppily took the bottle from her hands.

"Heh...I can drink it myself," he muttered, surprised to find that Anko still had that worried look on her face.

_'Wow...she really is concerned,'_ he thought while gulping down the liquid.

"Well, no injuries except that you just seem to be exhausted," Ayame spoke with a relieved sigh as she continued to pour the healing reiryoku over him while Naruto could feel his strength returning, his vision getting sharper.

"Let's go to the living room," Teuchi uttered making Rangiku nod while Urahara continued to gaze at the whiskered blonde's zanpakutou.

**Ichiraku's Apartment: Living Room**

"So, what happened Naruto?" Teuchi asked, now sitting opposite to the blonde around the table. Rangiku was sitting beside Naruto, holding his hand beneath the table while Ayame and Anko were standing behind Teuchi, curious expressions on their faces. A weary looking Hiruzen along with Kisuke were sitting beside Teuchi.

There was a tense silence in the room while Naruto just sighed.

"Let's just say things are never normal around me," well, that was obvious to everyone now.

"Are you aware that when you were in your mindscape, a purple hollow mask had started to form around your face?" Kisuke asked making the blonde's eyes widen a bit in surprise.

'_Must be because of that darkness inside me,'_ he thought while Teuchi had his own set of thoughts.

'_What was more astonishing that the mask was purple, and it seemed to be made out of lightning. Though now that I think about it, it is quite logical. Hollow mask is made of the affected person's reiryoku, and considering Naruto's reiatsu is of lightning type, it's__ definitely__ possible.'_

"By all means, that should be impossible. You undergoing hollow transformation on your own….I don't get it. Perhaps you can fill us in?" the elder Ichiraku verbalized making the blonde nod as he started to explain what happened- from his mindscape, or rather soulscape being Konoha, kyuubi being a female, the strange structure of the seal, his zanpakutou spirit to the darkness, or rather the hollow inside of him.

The occupants of the room sat/stood there stunned. This was…this shouldn't be possible to say the least. Teuchi however sighed in exasperation as he massaged his temples.

"How in the world can a zanpakutou not know its name? It's completely illogical," clearly he was tired of the mysterious events surrounding Naruto.

"As he said, maybe it's because of her being sealed for so long that she perhaps….forgot? And it seems his hollow does know her name," Urahara muttered with a serious expression making the blonde nod while Rangiku gently squeezed his hand, worried for him. There was a hollow inside of him, just like what Kisuke had done in Soul Society back in…..

Her eyes slowly narrowed in realization as she glared at the blonde ex-captain.

"You….it's your doing isn't it?" she spoke in a hostile tone, a frown on her face while Kisuke just stared at her with a grave expression. Naruto and others however were surprised at the accusation as they looked at Matsumoto in surprise.

"Rangiku-chan…what are you…." he trailed while she continued to glare at the ex-captain.

"You were already involved in those hollow experiments and now you wouldn't leave Naruto alone?" her voice got louder when Teuchi interrupted in a stern voice.

"Don't blame him Rangiku-san! I've already cleared that he has no such intentions, and neither did he have them in the past," however, it didn't seem to have any affect as the blonde lieutenant continued to glare at him. Naruto squeezed her hand making her look at him as the blonde jinchuriki smiled at her softly.

"I trust Urahara-san Rangiku-chan, and most of all, I trust oji-san. If he brought Urahara-san to help us, then I don't have any qualms," he uttered making Ayame and Teuchi smile at him while Rangiku still had an uncertain expression on her face. Naruto had already endured so much in his life, and she'd be damned if she let anyone hurt him.

Hiruzen however couldn't blame her too. He knew Matsumoto was extremely protective of him. But the hokage trusted Teuchi blindly, after all, the ramen chef had served and protected Konoha longer than him.

"Thank you for your trust Uzumaki-san. But let's get back to the topic at hand. You said that you needed to defeat your hollow to know your zanpakutou spirit's name?" Kisuke started making the blonde jinchuriki look at him.

"Hai…though, it seems impossible right now. My hollow, he's ridiculously strong. He easily defeated me without breaking any sweat. And he also knows all the abilities of my zanpakutou," Naruto articulated when Anko interrupted.

"Hey wait, you yourself told me that you needed to know the name of a zanpakutou to unlock it's shikai. And you told us before that you saw your zanpakutou back there in its sealed state. Then how come your hollow was utilizing the powers of your zanpakutou spirit without releasing its shikai," she argued making Kisuke glance at her, he was impressed to say the least.

Naruto however nodded as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was wondering that too. My zanpakutou, he didn't say her name or anything, and yet it transformed. I don't know, maybe it's like a sub-shikai or something?" he offered with a sheepish smile making Hiruzen shake his head in exasperation.

"Seriously Naruto-kun, nothing ever seems to be normal around you. And I'm sure everyone here agrees with me," the hokage muttered making the blonde pout.

"Hey it's not my fault jiji," he spoke with a sigh while Ayame softened her gaze as she stared at him.

"Alright…" Teuchi stood up as he stretched a bit.

"I think we should retire for the day and get some rest. We'll continue this tomorrow. Me and Kisuke need to think a bit over this. Naruto, come over tomorrow," he finished making the blonde nod, who was more than eager to rest after what he endured in his mindscape.

"Also Naruto-kun, team placements will be held tomorrow. So I think it's better that you use a soul replicating pill in a gigai," Hiruzen advised while Ayame nodded.

"That's a good idea, it will save time and you can do two tasks at once," she spoke as Naruto smiled at her making her blush a bit.

"Sure," he muttered with a smile, before standing up. Noticing his body lying on the couch, he walked towards it.

Rangiku too stood up as she saw Naruto entering his real body. Opening his eyes, a look of pain crossed his face as he tried to move.

"Ah damn it….my muscles are all cranked up. What the hell happened?" he exclaimed, feeling uneasiness as he got to his feet, now stretching his neck a bit to ease the tension in his muscles. Sarutobi smiled in amusement as he remembered what had happened.

"Well, Mikoto-san guarded your body the whole night. It was chilly out there, so I guess it was bound to happen," he reasoned while Naruto mentally noted to meet Mikoto soon. Before he had become a shinigami, he met her almost every day and now…. It saddened him that he hadn't met her since a week now. He knew that it was selfish of him to do that. When he was alone, Mikoto gladly gave him company and comforted him. However, as soon as he got people like Rangiku, Anko, Ayame and Teuchi giving him company, he had forgotten about her.

She was the one who helped him in the toughest of times. He just couldn't ignore her.

**Konoha: Naruto's Apartment**

"I'm going to sleep Rangiku-chan," Naruto spoke in a tired tone as he started to trudge towards the bedroom, the duo just having entered his apartment.

The blonde however grunted when he felt his collar being grabbed from behind.

"Not so fast Naruto, first take a bath and then you can sleep," she spoke making him groan.

"But why? I'm too tired to do that," he argued when she gained a mischievous look in her eyes. Leaning down, she breathed huskily into his ear.

"Are you sure, Na-ru-to-kun," now lightly nibbling on his earlobe making him blush furiously.

"A-Alright dammit! I'm going!" he exclaimed before rushing to the bathroom as fast as he could while Matsumoto giggled heartily.

'_It's just so easy to get you Narut__o__,' _she thought, now smiling. But that was one of his qualities that she loved so much.

**Several Hours Later**

The first thing Naruto felt after returning from the dream land were two soft pillows stuffed into his face. And he immediately knew whose pillows they were. Opening his eyes, he was not so surprised to find himself being hugged by a sleeping Rangiku, her long slender legs tangled with his small ones.

Both of her arms were gently wrapped around his neck, her right hand pushing his head into her breasts as she slept peacefully. She would always sleep like this, holding him to her chest tightly as if he would run away. And it would always make Naruto blush as to how their bodies would be pressed flush against each other, it kind of 'activates' his lower region every time to say the least.

Often he would sleep early at night, sometimes when Rangiku was out to have a drink with Anko and Kurenai, only to find himself being hugged possessively by a sleeping Matsumoto in the morning. He wouldn't complain, which male in his normal mind would? He may have been uncomfortable with it in the beginning, but slowly he began to enjoy it. And not just physically, every time it warmed his heart upon seeing her sleeping face with a small smile this close, it reminded him that he was not hated, his existence was not repelled by everyone; that there were people who cared for him, loved him. And she reminded him of this every day.

'_She looks so peaceful…so beautiful,'_ he thought with a warm smile, now gazing at her face. Her thick eyelashes, her petty nose, her pink supple lips, her smooth and flawless creamy skin, really….he couldn't blame all those fan boys of her out there in the village. His cheeks were still a shade of pink due to his face being stuffed into her ample cleavage.

'_Hmm…she smells good….oh dammit!'_ he thought with a furious blush, instantly berating himself for thinking like that.

'_Damn you Rangiku-chan, Anko! Why did you have to do this to me__?__!'_ Naruto was crying anime tears now. He really disliked perverts, he hated them with a passion, of course excluding Rangiku and Anko. But really, women were not just 'things' to satisfy your hormonal tendencies.

'_Really, if you want a 'thing' to satisfy yourself, why not just buy a vibrator and shove it up your ass! Maybe that can satisfy those assholes!'_ he thought in irritation, though inwardly impressed at the 'pun' he accidentally created.

Women, according to what he had experienced in his life so far, yearned for love as much as a man did. Well, that was a simple analysis. However, he knew that the 'love' a woman desired was more along the terms of being 'pure', not only based on sexual nature of it. A man's definition of love though, varied, leaning towards satisfying his desires.

Naruto though also knew that some women were, what he oh so innocently dubbed as, 'bad women'. These were the ones who played on a man's feelings and hold no regret in trampling over their feelings. However, he knew that these type of women too, although termed as sluts or bitches, and hated by men who desired pure love, needed to be healed. It's not like they were 'bad' from the beginning, it is life, the circumstances under which they lived that forced them to become what they are. Or a man have had hurt them emotionally before, leading them to become cold hearted just so they don't have to feel that pain again.

The blonde jinchuriki, although naive under certain circumstances, knew that people threw themselves into their darkness way too easily. For example, if someone killed a man's wife in front of him, he would elect for revenge and avenge his wife. And morally of course, this would be understandable by the society. However, losing yourself into the darkness for that revenge, making it the sole purpose of your life and having no other goals or dreams, destroying your life, that's something Naruto did not like. Of course, no body was a saint, but that did not mean that you should fall into the dark abyss and destroy your life. Naruto knew that he had that choice concerning the villagers, and he was proud of himself for not falling into that darkness of revenge and hate.

Coming out of his random thoughts, he stared at Rangiku's face as the blonde smiled at her again. Lifting his left hand, the other one wrapped around her waist, he gently cupped her smooth cheeks as the blonde lieutenant smiled in her sleep- leaning into his touch. Bringing his face closer, he tenderly kissed her on the nose.

'_Damn…she's so irresistible, makes me wonder how I stood my ground against her for a whole month,'_ Naruto thought, now staring at the smooth skin of her neck, finding it difficult to resist the inviting sight. His breathing started to get a bit heavier, his heart thumping against her chest as he leaned forward, his lips a bit parted.

The blonde closed his eyes as he kissed her on the neck gently, the magical aroma coming off her skin was pulling him in, enchanting his senses. His face was now snuggled into her neck, the blonde now taking in her scent as he found himself addicted to it. Matsumoto, as if on automation, reared her head back, revealing more delicious skin, her eyes a bit scrunched.

A look of desire crossed Naruto's eyes as he again leaned forward, this time kissing her neck with more passion, but tenderly nonetheless. He began to place small butterfly kisses, his right hand now roaming around her waist. A low moan escaped a still sleeping Matsumoto's lips as she pulled him closer to her while Naruto stopped, his nose nuzzled into her neck as he released shaky breaths, the warm air tickling her skin. The whiskered blonde could suddenly feel the room getting hot while his right hand began to massage her full round ass, slowly grinding his body against her.

'_Damn…' _his thoughts trailed as he slightly bit on the skin of her neck, nibbling on it lightly making another moan escape Matsumoto's lips, who somehow, was still sleeping. Naruto however was oblivious to the world around him as he found himself drowned in these 'new' desires of his.

"Ra-Rangiku-chan…" he groaned into her neck in a low tone, grinding his hardened member against her body while his right hand continued to massage her ass gently. Feeling his desire sky rocket, he began to kiss her more vigorously, nibbling on the skin of her neck before licking the spot. Matsumoto moaned more heavily this time, her voluptuous chest pressed flush against him. His right hand began to travel up her curvaceous body as he took every inch of her curves before they stopped just underneath her right breast, cupping it gently.

Naruto continued to release shaky hot breaths into her neck, now noticing how warm her skin had gotten since he started his ministrations. He then began to trail his tongue over her collar bone before nipping at her side neck while Rangiku continued to moan lightly. Too lost in the moment, his right hand gently began to squeeze her right mound, the thin fabric of her maroon kimono separating their skins. Feeling a hardened bud in his right palm, his foggy mind noted that she was not wearing a bra.

"Rangiku…-chan…" he again groaned, his right hand melting into her soft and firm breasts, as if they were being pulled into the skin while he tangled his legs deeply with hers, grinding his body slowly with her. Matsumoto's hold on the back of his head tightened a bit as she pulled his frame closer while Naruto continued to squeeze her breast, the tips of his fingers sinking into her skin as he continued to nip at her neck.

He briefly noticed that she was sweating, and him too. Glancing at a bead of sweat trailing down her neck, and then to her cleavage, he leaned down. An audible moan escaped Matsumoto's lips this time while Naruto, grinding his body with hers, squeezing her right breast, licked the bead of sweat through her cleavage. He soon began to deeply kiss into her cleavage, nipping on the skin of her left breast with the kimono being pulled aside a bit. Another loud moan came from Rangiku as she pulled his head closer.

"Na-Naruto…." her sexy moan snapped him out of his reverie state. The blonde leaned back a bit, his eyes widened as he lifted his head to notice a heavily breathing Rangiku staring at him through half-lidded eyes- eyes full of lust, desire and love. Her cheeks were tinted pink as she released hot shaky breaths; her pink lips were parted as if inviting him in with a thin blonde bang of her in front of her left eye- turning him on even more. But it also gave the slightly startled realization that he just might have taken advantage of her. However, judging by how her left hand was supporting his right hand which was _still _squeezing her breast and the way her body was rhythmically grinding with his, that was the least probable case now.

"Naru..to….take me…."

_**'cough' 'cough' **_**Well, here's we pause. So prepare for a lemon next chapter! Again, I know about the admins acting up on ratings but as I said before, I don't care! :D**

**The above scene was probably the hottest I've ever written, according to me anyway. Lol I could feel my breathing getting heavier XP**

**Anyway, the attack 'Raiju Kirichira', which means 'Promiscuous Slash of the Thunderbeast' is a kind of pun. 'Promiscuous' can either mean 'casual'...or 'indulging in indiscriminate/casual sexual relationships with different partners'...lol. So it can mean 'Casual Slash of the Thunderbeast' or 'Indiscriminate Sexual Slash of the Thunderbeast'...LOL! Poor Naruto, Anko and Ichigo are gonna crack up at that. XD **

**And oh, 'Raiju' which literally means 'Thunder Beast', is the companion of 'Raiden', the Japanese Shinto God of lightning. Raiju is often used there to explain the natural phenomenon of 'ball lightning'. And...just check out the fucking wiki if you wanna know more lol! :P**

**Anyway, review please! *pout***

**N6023**


	18. Is It Unbearable?

**Chapter 18****-Is It Unbearable?**

"Na-Naruto…." her sexy moan snapped him out of his reverie state. The blonde leaned back a bit, his eyes widened as he lifted his head to notice a heavily breathing Rangiku staring at him through half-lidded eyes- eyes full of lust, desire and love. Her cheeks were tinted pink as she released hot shaky breaths; her pink lips were parted as if inviting him in with a thin blonde bang of her in front of her left eye- turning him on even more. But it also gave the slightly startled realization that he just might have taken advantage of her. However, judging by how her left hand was supporting his right hand which was _still _squeezing her breast and the way her body was rhythmically grinding with his, that was the least probable case now.

"Naru..to….take me…." she spoke in a barely audible voice, her voice quivering a bit. Naruto however had alarms going off in his head. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Take…her?

'_D-Does she mean….s-sex?'_ he thought, blushing up a storm as a wave of nervousness combined with anxiety surged through his body. He wasn't ready for it, was he? Just as he was coming to terms with his feelings for her, wasn't this sudden? Seeing her sleep there, her exposed creamy smooth skin may have had taken control of him, but still….they just had their first kiss the other day. But wait, was he a pansy in thinking all of this. No way!

'_We can't get ahead of ourselves so soon….'_ He mentally berated himself, still staring into her sky blue orbs while Rangiku too continued to gaze back at him in lust and desire, now being mixed with slight confusion.

What was he waiting for? Her heart was practically hammering her chest right now, she needed him. She had mentally leaped with joy when she was awakened by a jolt of pleasure to find Naruto being intimate with her. Matsumoto had this fantasy for a long while now, which was Naruto taking 'advantage' of her while she was sleeping. And it was coming true! He had finally taken a step now! Not to mention that her lower regions were practically dripping wet now. She had never been so turned on in her 'long' existence. Even if she was a virgin, she usually sated her sexual desires herself- masturbating at nights.

But his hands on her body, even through the fabric, made her breathing rate go haywire! His soft lips on her skin, his hot breath, oh god…it turned her on so much. And that look of desire in his eyes, she was close to cumming just by looking into those lustful and half-lidded oceanic blue eyes. But the way his lips and hands roamed her body just now, it was so gentle, such tender contact, it wasn't just lust, she could feel his feelings.

"N-Naruto?" she again panted out, leaving his right hand, which was still on her right breast to cup his cheek gently. It seemed to snap him out of his daze as his eyes widened a bit.

ZSHOOM!

Matsumoto's eyes widened when he exited his real body, his adult shinigami form coming out of his back as he rolled on the bed to stand up, still panting a bit.

"G-Gomen Rangiku-chan, I d-don't know what came over me. We c-can't do this," he spoke with a somewhat solemn look on his face while a hurt look crossed her face making him avert his gaze.

"Why?" her voice was painfully low, her eyes were glossy as she stared at him. The sight was so beautiful and sexy, yet heart clenching at the same time. Her glistening sweaty skin, her parted kimono which was showing more of her left breast, her slightly disheveled hair, it made him want to just jump her right there.

"I th-think….I'm j-just not ready for it," he lowered his head making her eyes widen. That's what was bothering him?

"I'm o-only twelve years old after all," he whispered to himself but she still heard him. Rangiku continued to stare at him with a soft look on her face when he lifted his head to grin at her.

"But don't worry, I'll be ready soon!" he exclaimed cheerfully making her smile, nothing could get him down. She could wait for him, as long as he wanted, she will wait for him.

"I'm hungry, so I'll go and fix something up for us," he uttered with a smile, now walking towards the door. Matsumoto's eyes followed him when she noticed the brief look of sadness cross his face, her eyes widening a bit. Suddenly, a wave of rush and anxiety passed through her. She didn't know what went through her, she felt a jolt of some kind, her body just moved on its own.

'_Fake….'_

Just as Naruto grabbed the door knob, he felt his shoulder being grabbed from behind as he was swiftly made to turn on his heels.

His eyes widened when Rangiku crashed her lips onto his, wildly kissing him as his back was pushed against the door. Her eyes were closed as her arms wrapped around his neck, her body pressed tightly against him as she kissed him passionately, hungrily, like he was her oxygen. Naruto's mind was blown away by the intensity of the kiss, never in his life had he felt like this. It was….simply breathtaking.

He couldn't resist, instantly his eyes closed as he began to kiss her back with equal passion, their lips rubbing against each other's furiously as he wrapped his arms around her waist-pulling her into him.

**Lemon Warning!**

"Oh Nharusho…." she moaned into the kiss, not intent on leaning back while her hands were clutching onto his blonde spikes, putting all of her feelings into the kiss. Naruto groaned into the kiss, his rock hard member poking her inner bare thighs through the slit of her kimono making her desire for him sky rocket.

Opening her lips, she snaked out her tongue to lick his soft lips. As if on instinct, Naruto parted his lips as her tongue began to explore his moist cavern hungrily. Both of them moaned loudly, the room filled with lewd slurping noises.

'_Her lips….'_ The blonde thought foggily as now their tongues battled, wrapping around each other. His knees however buckled when Matsumoto began to suck on his tongue, electric pleasure striking his body.

'_Wow…'_ was the only thing his hazy mind could conjure up as he began to kiss her back with more vigor.

"Ahh…" Rangiku moaned when she was gently pushed against the door, the whiskered blonde now taking charge as he kissed her like a rabbit in heat. This time, it was Matsumoto who was amazed as she inwardly squealed in excitement. He was taking charge!

If a certain white haired pervert would've seen them now, he could easily say this was one of the hottest kissing scenes he had watched in his life.

"Narusho…" she again moaned, her sweet honey voice mixed with her desire and lust making his hardened member twitch, now pulsing painfully. He felt as if he could drill holes into the wooden door, it was getting out of control. He needed it….now!

Leaning back, the two breathed deeply as light panting sounds filled the room. They gazed at each other through half-lidded eyes, their noses touching each other as they took in much needed oxygen.

"R-Rangiku…." Naruto groaned when he felt his hardened shaft being squeezed gently while a small smirk found its way on her lips.

"Y-You are ready….Naruto," she whispered in his ear, nibbling on it while he continued to pant. Damn, she was driving him crazy! Her scent, her tongue, her lips, her eyes…the way she was stroking his cock through his shinigami garb…everything!

'_He's huge!'_ she mentally cheered. Even though a virgin, she knew a fair share about male's anatomy. Well, she was always a pervert as it is, so keeping 'those' magazines wasn't unexpected of her. And she knew, ten inches was rare.

"S-Stop that….ahh…" he groaned, the pleasure electrocuting his senses, it felt so good having his cock stroked like that, her hands were so warm and soft.

"See…you're r-ready," she spoke, placing kisses on his neck while stroking him. Naruto's eyes were closed as he gritted his teeth. Getting a hold of her shoulders, he gently pushed her back with a jerk. Matsumoto was in shock as she stared at him, her heart clenching when he opened his eyes.

'_Why does he still resist me?'_ she thought, her eyelashes getting wet when she noticed the look in his eyes. He had that look, that strange determined look. Both of them were still panting, silence ensuing between them while her hands were still lightly stroking his shaft through his garb.

Leaning in, he growled in a low tone.

"My turn now…" a look of surprise crossed her face before a loud moan escaped her lips.

"Ohhh…Na-Naruto…" he was kneading her right breast now, the whiskered blonde placing passionate kisses on her neck again. Rangiku closed her eyes as she leaned her head back, pushing out her chest more to give him more access. It felt so good, her breasts were always so sensitive.

"You're mine!" he exclaimed, now biting on her nape.

"Ahhh…i-it feels so….good N-Naruto…do it…do it m-more," she moaned, still stroking his cock while now both of his hands were kneading her breasts through the fabric of her kimono. He continued to give her bite marks, licking over them sensually as her moans started to get louder.

Grabbing hold of the edge of her kimono around her neck, he pulled it down as her firm and perky globes of flesh bounced out.

"These are mine…." He whispered huskily in her ear, now cupping both of her bare breasts as he started to grind his meat pole against her wet region.

"O-Ohh my god….Naruto…suck them…" her breathing was even more heavier now while lust had completely overtaken the blonde as he started to nibble on her ear. Going down, he placed several butterfly kisses on her neck, now sporting several bite marks while his hands continued to grope her breasts.

'_They are so soft…and my hands keep sinking in them…'_ he involuntarily thought as Rangiku squirmed under his touch, her eyes closed as her sexy moans continued to fuel his desire. Her trembling hands started to fumble with the white sash around his waist as he continued to dry fuck her.

He lightly pinched her hard nipples, driving out a loud moan from her as he traced his tongue into her cleavage, a trail of saliva visible from her neck. His sash fell to the ground along with his lower shinigami garb. Her trembling hands slowly got hold of his warm meat pole as Naruto groaned loudly.

Rangiku felt herself losing control as she tenderly stroked his bare cock now, which was now grinding against her vagina through the fabric of her kimono.

'_I-It's so warm…and hard….it's pulsing in my hand,'_ she thought while Naruto continued to sink his fingers into the soft flesh of her tits, his thumb rubbing over her hardened nipples.

"Ahh yes…a-amazing…" her moans encouraged him as he leaned down to take her left nipple in his mouth while his right hand pinched her other nipple.

"Ohh…so gooood…." Matsumoto threw her head back as she cupped his head from behind, pushing him in while Naruto eagerly ran his tongue over her areola, sucking and biting on them as he drew her crazy. His hands would easily slide over her sweaty breasts as he continued to knead her right tit while sucking onto her left nipple like a baby.

'_Her breasts…are addicting. I love them…'_ he mentally added, now sucking quarter of her breasts, taking as much into his mouth as he could, biting the soft skin as he furiously devoured her delicious tits.

"I…ah…ahhh….Na-Naruto….y-you're making me go crazyyy…" she moaned heavily, hands tightly clutching onto her back head. Stopping his 'breast sucking', he leaned upwards to take her luscious lips into another hot kiss making her moan in ecstasy, his right hand roughly groping her right breast while he continued to grind his bare cock against her wet lower region.

Leaning back, he grinned at her lightly as she stared at him through her half-lidded eyes, inwardly shocked to see this side of his. Where was the shy and timid Naruto, who thought he wasn't ready? And here he was making her go crazy, where did he learn all these things anyway? He was in complete control now!

Nibbling on her ear, biting her earlobe, he whispered huskily.

"I love your breasts….so soft, firm, my fingers just melt into them. Your nipples…are so much tastier than ramen R-Rangiku-chan, so hard, yet soft and stretchable. I think I'll need a taste of them every day," this made her whimper as her juices dripped down her nether regions.

It was like her dream coming true! Her Naruto…he was as perverted as her! Well, at least in the bedroom. Such dirty talk, it had turned her on even more. Leaning down he again began to suck on her large tits, now coated with a mixture of her sweat and his saliva. Matsumoto however continued to stand there, her knees buckling as she found herself unable to do anything, she was totally lost in this amazing feeling, the feeling of the love of her life tending to her body like that…it was terrific!

She however shivered a bit when his hands further pulled down her kimono as they slid to the floor, revealing her completely drenched black panties, her juices now flowing along her inner thighs.

"My….you're so sexy, no wonder so many guys are after you," he whispered in her ear as she continued to pant, her voluptuous assets heaving up and down with each breath while her eyes were closed.

"Ohh….yesss," Rangiku hissed as he began to rub her clit through her soaked panties, his left hand still groping his breasts as he leaned in to capture her pink lips. Matsumoto was so lost in the pleasure that her hand had automatically stopped stroking his cock, though it still held its gentle grip on it.

"Mmmm…" her moans were turning him on so much as he nibbled on her lower lip lightly, his left hand playing with her bare tits while he continued to rub her through the panties. Retracting his right hand, he put it in past her waist band.

"Ahh…Na-Narutooo…." Matsumoto broke out of the kiss as she moaned sweetly, her eyes closed, her right hand resting on his shoulder while he started to rub her bare clit gently. She thrusted her lower body forwards, opening her legs a bit to give him more access.

"Enjoying….Rangiku-chan?" Naruto whispered in his husky voice. God! She couldn't think straight now, he was so good!

"Y-Yesss….please d-don't s-stop…." She panted out as he began to finger her, wet sloshing sounds mixed with their pants fueling their lust. The whiskered blonde however suddenly stopped making her whimper while he bent on his knees, his left hand reluctantly leaving her breasts as he pulled her panties down, his warm and wet tongue trailing circles around her belly button making her giggle a bit. He then gently probed his tongue in her belly button resulting in her squirming a bit. Leaning down, Naruto noticed her clean shaved pussy with a neatly trimmed patch of blonde hair above it.

Rangiku shuddered in anticipation as she gazed at him through the curtain of her thick eyelashes due to her eyes being half lidded. Naruto took a whiff of her scent….it was intoxicating as his shaft was painfully hard now. But he controlled himself, he had to give her pleasure, she had done so much for him.

"Heh…I-Itadakimasu…" he muttered with a small hazy smile before leaning forward, giving her pinkish and wet pussy lips an experimental lick.

"Ahhh…." Matsumoto moaned loudly as her knees buckled. Naruto had a surprised expression on his face as he tasted her love juice.

'_Wow…I actually….like it…'_ he mentally spoke before grinning lightly, licking his lips.

"Naruto….m-more….lick me more….o-onegai…" she pleaded while panting, a sheen layer of sweat covering her body giving it an ethereal glow. Smiling softly at her, he again leaned forward as he began to lap up her juices hungrily making her moan uncontrollably.

"O-Oh my….Kami…it feels sooo…" she whimpered, her hands now resting gently on his back head as she pushed him a bit deeper, not wanting this feeling to end- she was just about to cum anyway. Naruto however, shoved his tongue deeper into her clit, his nose nuzzling into the small patch of her blonde hair while Rangiku clutched his blonde locks.

"Narutoooo…..I..I'm cumming!" she moaned loudly this time, pushing his head in more deeper as she closed her thighs. Her moans got louder as she experienced the best orgasm of her life, her mind getting lost in the euphoria as the blonde lieutenant's body shivered in unearthly pleasure.

Naruto leaned back, the tip of his nose as well his lips dripping with her honey juices, a confused expression on his face.

'_What did just happen?'_ he thought, licking her fluids off his lips as he lifted his head to notice the dreamy smile on Matsumoto's face.

"Rangiku-chan…?" he asked in concern, now standing up after noticing how her body was trembling a bit while she continued to pant. Rangiku slowly opened her eyes to see him staring at her in worry.

Right then, she couldn't help but love this man more. He was just….perfect to her.

"Oh Naruto…" she moaned, now softly cupping his cheeks with her shaking hands before leaning in to capture his lips in a chaste kiss. Naruto kissed her back, but still with a tint of confusion.

"Ahh R-Ran…" he trailed when she grabbed his cock, a sly smile on her face. Turning him around, she pushed him gently against the door, giving him another heated kiss while her hand started to stroke his cock. Naruto groaned as she started to place soft, tender kisses on his neck before bending down.

"Ohhh…don't w-worry…I'll take good care of you f-from now on…" she purred with a light giggle, nuzzling her cheek with his hard member, her one hand stroking it at the base while the other cupped his balls. Naruto groaned, his head against the wooden door. He could not believe it- a foreign hand, such soft hand on his balls and his cock, it felt so good. Inwardly however, a small part of him sweat dropped at her treating his 'weapon' like a baby.

"Kaa-chan wouldn't leave you alone," she murmured, kissing the tip of his shaft making him shiver a bit while inwardly, he was sweatdropping at her treating his junior like her baby.

"Aghh…" he gritted his teeth upon feeling his dick being covered with warm wetness.

'_Damn…it feels….so good,'_ he thought in amazement while Rangiku had taken half of his cock in her mouth, now running her soft tongue at the base of it. She moaned while the vibrations through her throat further increased his pleasure as he rested his hands on the back of her head, gently pushing her in.

Getting the signal, and inwardly smirking, Matsumoto further began to engulf his shaft until almost all of it was in.

'_Wow…I can't believe I did it, and on first try nonetheless. I'm deep-throating him!'_ she inwardly exclaimed in glee, now leaning back to the tip of his cock before again taking the whole length in her mouth. Naruto meanwhile was groaning uncontrollably, this was heaven…pure heaven!

Starting out at a slow rhythmic pace, she began to bob her head- back and forth, all the while her tongue eager licking his cock.

'_Mmm….it's delicious….'_ She involuntarily thought, both of her hands holding his thighs as she gradually increased her pace while Naruto was already close to cumming, his hands gently fisting a bit of her hair.

"R-Ran…I'm…" he didn't know what was coming, but he knew something was coming alright. Matsumoto however, immediately knew what was coming her way as she immediately leaned back, her mouth leaving his shaft with an audible pop- her warm saliva now coating it. The whiskered blonde shivered at the feeling of cold air on his shaft as she wiped her lips, now smirking at him in lust.

"W-Why did you…ohhh Kami…." He muttered, clenching his eyes shut at the heavenly feeling.

"S-So….how does i-it feel Naruto?" Rangiku asked with a light blush on her face, currently supporting the base of her breasts as she titty-fucked him.

His saliva coated cock was currently in between her two globes of flesh, sliding in and out of her cleavage while her sweaty breasts engulfed it in a warm velvety embrace. Naruto could easily say this was the best he had felt in his life, it felt like had died and gone to heaven. He couldn't feel anything else, only that his rock hard, pulsing cock was covered by extremely soft, firm, sweaty and slippery tits.

"Oh R-Rangiku-chan….I…" he gritted his teeth, trying to hold back what he knew was coming. Matsumoto too however had her eyes closed, her cheeks tinted a light shade of pink as she moaned in pleasure. It sure felt good having his hard shaft slide in between her voluptuous assets.

"C-Cum….cum on my breasts and m-my face….d-do it N-Naruto…." She moaned, now licking the tip of his dick, finally pushing him over the edge.

"Oh f-fuck!" he cursed as jet streams of his white seed erupted from his cock, spilling over her face and breasts. Naruto had his eyes clenched shut, his hands now tightly clenched into fists by his side as he cummed violently, shooting loads of thick sticky sperm while his member twitched in response. Matsumoto was moaning, her eyes half-lidded as the warm thick liquid splashed on her face, now pouring down to her breasts and cleavage.

Soon it ended as sounds of heavy panting filled the room, the two not moving as they reveled in this feeling, especially Naruto. Rangiku finally let go of her breasts as she began to lick the sperm off her fingers. She moaned at the taste, it was a bit bitter, but still….she didn't know how to explain it, it was delicious, it was turning her on even more. She wanted to taste more. Wiping her face and breasts with her hands, she continued to gulp down his sperm, all the while moaning in ecstasy.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, his knees shaking a bit to see a sight which was almost every man's dream. His oceanic blue eyes, filled with lust, slowly widened as he watched her lick his sperm off her body, enjoying it all the while moaning at the taste.

"Mmm…I love it…" her voice seductive as she licked her fingers clean before lifting her eyes to watch him staring at her, his eyes full of desire and lust making her blush lightly.

"W-What?" she murmured, averting her gaze before her eyes widened. Standing in front of her proudly, twitching madly, ready for plenty of more rounds clearly, was his steel-hard cock.

'_B-But he just came!'_ she thought in surprise, not expecting him to recover so quickly. She squealed when she was lifted off the ground, courtesy of Naruto now holding her bridal style.

"You're mine…" he spoke possessively making her blush as he started to walk towards the bed while she wrapped her arms around his neck. His knees however buckled when….

DHUF!

"Owww…." Rangiku muttered cutely with a light giggle, now laying on the bed with Naruto on top of her, his face nuzzled in her neck as his knees had given up resulting in both of them falling on the soft bed, fortunately.

He lifted his head, now gazing into her eyes.

"S-Sorry…." He muttered making her smile as she cupped his cheek, smiling warmly at him, still panting a bit.

"I love you…Naruto…." She spoke softly, gazing at him with a mixture of desire, love and lust. Naruto's eyes however slowly widened, now getting glossy as his foggy mind processed her words. His heart leaped with utter joy, the blonde having a repeat of the feeling he felt when Shiroi had confessed to him.

Leaning down, he quickly captured her lips, kissing her passionately as she too instantly returned the affectionate kiss, lovingly sifting through his blonde locks. A lone tear rolled down Naruto's cheek as he caressed her smooth cheek gently, pouring as much emotions into the kiss as he could.

"Mmmm…." Rangiku moaned loudly when she felt his hardened member rubbing against her outer pussy lips, her lust sky rocketing when the blonde jinchuriki leaned back.

"R-Ready?" he asked while panting whereas she instantly nodded. Both blondes kept gazing into each other's eyes as he pushed his member gently against her pussy lips. Her already lubricated nether region easily gave access to his cock while Rangiku relaxed herself, moaning sexily as she slowly took in his member- her hymen having already been broken during her training in the academy.

Naruto too groaned as he felt warm and wet tightness engulf his cock, as if completely hugging him tightly, to never let it go.

"Ohh…K-Kami….Naru…" she moaned, now panting heavily as he slowly slid completely inside of her, both of them reveling in this marvelous feeling.

"G-Gosh….s-so good," the whiskered blonde muttered as he clenched the bed sheet tightly while Rangiku too couldn't believe how good it felt having him inside of her, it was like they were complete together.

'_We are one now….'_ She thought with a smile, a thin line of tear escaping the confines of her thick eyelashes.

"N-Naruto….move…" she panted as he slowly pulled his cock out until just the tip of it was inside her before slowly moving. He gradually began to increase the pace, making sure that she was comfortable while Matsumoto could only moan at the wonderful sensation.

"Faster…" she moaned as he began to go faster, his hands now grabbing a hold of her waist as he started to slam into her, wet sloshing sounds being produced.

"Y-Yes….so g-good N-Naruto…" Matsumoto moaned loudly as she too began to move her hips, matching his motion.

'_Amazing…it feels….I never thought it would feel so good,'_ she thought, her breasts bouncing up and down due to the motion while Naruto continued to slam into her, going as fast as he could as he tightly held her waist.

"O-Oh…so g-good….y-yeah, keep it g-going…oh N-Naruto…." Matsumoto continued to moan loudly as she wrapped her thighs around his waist, locking him in. Beads of sweat rolled down Naruto's face as he continued to ram into her, her tight slippery insides squeezing his shaft everytime he hit her deep inside.

"S-So tight R-Rangiku…." He muttered, now panting while she continued to moan, not being able to stop herself- her hands currently clutching the bed sheets tightly. Loosening his hold over her waist, he leaned forward to place both his hands on the bed beside her on both of her sides- taking her lips in another passionate kiss as their tongues dueled wildly with each other.

Matsumoto moaned loudly when he began to go even deeper than before, wet sloshing sounds combined with her sweet voice filling the room.

"Ahhh….s-so good….keep g-going….ahh Naruto….a-amazing," she couldn't stop moaning, the pleasure was out of the world, indescribable. Her whole body was going numb, the feeling of his manhood sliding into her womanhood, filling it like that, was overwhelming. Each time he thrust back in, her body would twitch due to a bolt of pleasure.

Naruto however was panting, sweat dripping down his chin as he continued to rock her, displaying his patented stamina while Rangiku just laid there, completely under his mercy. Opening his eyes just a bit, he watched the lustful look on her face, the way she was biting her index finger to keep from moaning way too loudly, the way her breasts were bouncing up and down…it awoke somewhat, the animalistic side of him.

"Damn…" he growled, further increasing the intensity of his thrusts as he leaned down to take her left nipple in his mouth, sucking on it wildly.

"Ahhhh….N-Narutoooo…" Matsumoto wrapped her arms around his head, holding him tight while her thighs too were firmly locked around his waist. The whiskered blonde however groaned when he felt her wet inner walls clench his cock while the vibrations from his throat further increased her pleasure as he continued to suck on her nipples.

"Y-Yes….suck o-on them….bite them Naruto!" she exclaimed in pleasure, arching her back to give him more access to her chest when Naruto lightly bit on her nipple making her mewl softly. The jinchuriki traced his tongue on the border of her areolas, creating a suction due to his sucking while his teeth tantalizingly grazed with her sensitive nipples.

Rangiku however was in a whole new world, where she could see nothing, hear nothing, speak nothing, all she could do was feel something heavenly surging through her body.

"O-oh…..Aahhh….N-Nar…." She didn't know what she was speaking, what was even going on, she had completely lost control over her senses. Grunting, Naruto encircled his arms around her waist before gently pulling her up with him while her arms automatically wrapped around his neck, her eyes closed while her mouth was open as she panted….completely lost in the bliss.

Naruto however, miraculously had some control over his body and his mind as he again squinted his eyes open. Tilting his head, he straightaway probed his tongue into her mouth, exploring her moist cavern while her tongue dueled with him slowly.

"Hah…hah…Nha….rhuto…." she panted through the heavy make out, their tongues visible as they danced around each other, fluids dripping down while he kept his around on his lower back.

Naruto however groaned when her walls began to clench around his manhood.

"I…I th-think…I…" she couldn't speak properly, both of them now gazing at each other through half-lidded eyes, the jinchuriki however immediately understood, he was close too after all. However, he suddenly remembered her nonchalantly saying, back in the month, that she'd like to try a particular position someday- she seemed to like it. She had showed him the position in that 'Icha-Icha' of hers, much to his embarrassment- fulfilling her purpose.

'_Well….no better time than now….'_ He thought with a light smirk before suddenly stopping, their panting sounds filling the room while Rangiku had her face buried in his shoulder, breathing deeply. She couldn't say anything as the pleasure was still numbing her senses, just being held limply in his arms. Naruto however grinned lightly as he tightened his hold on her waist, before rotating her body around his dick such that her back was facing him now- their slippery fluids allowing him do this with ease.

Rangiku still had her eyes closed, breathing deeply while her arms hung limply by her sides.

"E-Enjoy….Rangiku-chan…." He whispered making her moan a bit as he again started thrusting into her, as hard as he could while her body bounced on his manhood. Letting go of her waist, he started to grope her breasts roughly, kneading them in circular motion before pinching her nipples.

"Ahhh…hhahhh…" she moaned loudly, lifting her arms to wrap them around his neck behind her while he continued to play with her tits, sucking and biting on her neck.

"N-Naru….k-ki-kiss me…." She somehow managed to say while he gladly accepted as she turned her head. Both of them crashed their lips into each other, kissing each other like crazy as he continued to slam into her from below, his hands groping her tits.

It was too good….their pleasure meter sky rocketing when her lips left his with an audible pop as she moaned loudly.

"I….I….c-cummiiiinggg!" her voice echoed throughout the apartment as her body shuddered, a ground shattering orgasm rocking through her form while her inner, wet and sloshy walls constricted around his manhood, engulfing it resulting in Naruto too reaching his limit.

"Ahhh….d-dammnit I…." he groaned vociferously, his sweaty body shaking violently as the blonde jinchuriki shot hot ropes of his creamy sperm, milking her insides. Rangiku had her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, being lost in the feeling of him filling her insides like that, her eyes closed while she continued to pant along with him- the duo drowned in the glowing after-effects of post coital bliss.

"Nghh…." Naruto grunted as he gave out, both of them falling on the soft bed with him on top of her while Rangiku moaned due to his manhood moving inside of her. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck while his face was nuzzled into her neck, both of them recovering from the amazing world they had just experienced….and discovered. Finding himself getting back his senses as the cold air grazed his body, making him shiver, he pulled out of her making her moan in what seemed to be disappointment. With somewhat unsteady balance, he pulled the covers over them before laying beside her, hugging her tightly to him.

**Lemon Ends!**

Matsumoto slowly opened her eyes when she felt herself being tightly hugged, now her senses coming back as she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw were the warm oceanic blue orbs staring back at her. Her lips curved upwards into a dreamy smile as she gazed at his smiling face, her hand slowly lifting to rest on his chest.

"T-That was…." She trailed with a dreamy look on her face, sporting a silly smile while Naruto chuckled lightly to himself.

"I know…n-no words can describe it…" he finished with a grin making her smile, their noses almost touching each others.

"You kn-know….you taste better than ramen…." He spoke in a low tone, his eyes half lidded while a furious blush crept up her cheeks as she just buried her face in his chest. Naruto however was stunned.

He had….just made….Rangiku Matsumoto….blush….BLUSH! He had made her BLUSH! The all-resistible flirt queen was brought down, and just by a simple comment.

'_Wow….if there's one thing I thought I'd never achieve, that was making her blush. I never thought I could embarrass her or make her nervous in my presence,'_ he thought before smiling softly at her, a light shade of pink tinting his cheeks as he remembered her face with a blush just now, it was soooo cute! She really was….an angel, just like a certain other person, someone who also had confessed her love to him.

Matsumoto meanwhile, had her arms wrapped around his middle body as she sighed in content, taking in his scent. She couldn't believe what had just happened, this was probably the first time she had blushed in front of anyone. But somehow, she was okay with it, it made her giddy. She was not afraid to show this side of her to Naruto. Actually, she was not afraid to show him anything about her, she wanted him to see her, the complete her.

'_It…feels so strange…I feel so happy, so confident….like I can do anything, everything! My decision was right….this is completely worth it, this is invaluable, this feeling….is priceless. No amount of fame, money, power, respect or anything in Soul Society could have replaced this feeling. Nothing….can match up to this- this feeling, the man I love with all of my heart,'_ Rangiku thought, aware that he had already drifted to sleep as she rubbed her cheek against his chest- a single stream of tear cascading down her cheek.

_'__Arigatou….Naruto, for making me feel like the happiest woman alive, thank you….for everything. Aishiterou….arigatou….Naruto.' _

**Naruto's Apartment: Outside the Bedroom**

"_I….I….c-cummiiiinggg!"_

Her voice, it continued to echo in her mind, just like it had echoed throughout the apartment.

Ayame stood just outside the bedroom, her back pressed to the wood while she had her head lowered, her bangs shadowing her eyes. Several streams of pearly liquid were gliding down her smooth cheeks, the ramen waitress currently biting her lower lip as her body shook a bit. Soft sniffs could be heard coming from her as she stood there like a statue, her fists clenched while an occasional sob left her lips.

Her knees were trembling as she struggled to stand, the locked door supporting her frame as her hand went to her left chest, over her heart. She clutched the fabric of her civilian clothes tightly, another sob escaping her while the river of tears continued to flow endlessly. Her lower lip was quivering, she didn't know…..her mind was foggy, this feeling….it was unimaginable, her heart felt like it had been stabbed by thousands of senbon.

Pushing herself off the door, her reiatsu completely masked, she slowly trudged out of the apartment, quietly closing the door behind her.

Back in the living room, on the table were several packed bowls of ramen and other dishes, resting in a polythene bag.

**Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment**

Opening the door, Ayame quietly walked in as she slipped off her footwear.

"So, you think we should go with it? I mean, he is a shinigami now, so it shouldn't be any problem huh?" Teuchi and Kisuke were sitting in the living room, both of them discussing something, having serious expressions on their faces. The elder Ichiraku however, sensing his daughter's rather low reiatsu signature, turned his head.

"Oh, you're back Ayame. Would you mind making us some tea?" he asked as she slowly walked towards the kitchen, mumbling a small 'hai' while her head was bowed, her bangs hiding her eyes. Urahara had a serious expression on his face as he stared at her face while Teuchi turned back.

"So, what d-" he paused, noticing that Kisuke was still looking at Ayame. His eyes squinting in confusion, he followed his friend's gaze, before his eyes slightly widened in realization- now noticing as occasional drops of transparent liquid fell from her chin while she slowly staggered towards the kitchen- wiping her shadowed face with the sleeves of her cream sweater.

Teuchi didn't say anything as he stared at her with a neutral look on his face before he slowly turned around, surprised to find Kisuke missing. Noticing a note, he picked it up.

_Gonna take a stroll around the village._

He smiled at the note, inwardly thanking his friend. Standing up slowly, he called with a sigh.

"Ayame?"

"H-Hai Tou-san…?" she answered back with a somewhat quivering voice, already in the kitchen now.

"C'mon…we're gonna wash the dishes," he spoke in a commanding tone. There was a brief silence before she came walking out of the kitchen, water droplets dripping down her wet chin. It was clear she had washed her face just now, though her reddish eyes clearly gave it away.

"Sure Tou-san," she uttered with a smile, her eyes closed while he nodded back. Both of them walked to another door in the living room, entering the back store which held the raw supplies for their stand. Exiting it, they came to the back kitchen, where his look-alike was washing dishes.

"We'll take it from here," Teuchi spoke in a serious tone while Ayame stood behind him, her head lowered. His 'clone' nodded as he took the small chef hat off his head before throwing it towards Teuchi. He caught it before folding its fabric on the edge, revealing its inner area which had a black skull printed on it. Walking forward, the elder Ichiraku pressed it to his clone's chest before immediately entering it.

Now back in his real body, he gently spit something out of his mouth into his right hand. It revealed to be a small light green ball, or more precisely called as the Soul Replicating Pill.

"Alright, let's finish these Ayame," he spoke to her making her nod with that fake smile. Sighing to himself, he bent down as he started to scrub on the dishes while Ayame just kept giving him the dirty bowls and other utensils.

"Turn on the water," he verbalized while scrubbing as she gently turned on the water tap. Teuchi began to quietly rinse the dishes when he noticed more of them lying on the slab out of the corner of his eyes.

"There's more left Ayame," he said softly, pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards the slab.

"O-Oh…g-gomen T-Tou-san…" she stuttered before quickly walking to pick up the remaining dishes while Teuchi rinsed the other utensils.

"H-Here…" she spoke as he, without looking over his shoulder, took the dirty dishes before standing up a little to open the tap slightly for a low pressure stream of water. Wetting the dirty and dry dishes, he muttered.

"Close the tap Ayame…" he got no response but the thin stream of water stopped. The elder Ichiraku then started scrubbing over them, silence settling between the two. Teuchi was about to ask her something when he felt several drops of water falling on his head, a sigh escaping his lips.

"The tap Ayame….close it tightly," again no response, but the water too didn't stop wetting his scalp. He again called, now turning his head…

"Ayame, are you li-" he paused abruptly upon noticing her face. She was just staring off into space, holding the dirty dishes while endless river of tears were jutting down her face, falling on his head.

Teuchi's eyes softened as he gazed at his daughter's face, his heart clenching at the sight. Turning back, he continued with washing the dishes.

"So, you went to Naruto's apartment right?" he asked a bit loudly, effectively knocking her out of her daze.

"W-What Tou-san?" she asked, quickly rubbing her cheeks with her shoulders to wipe her tears as both of her hands were busy holding the dishes.

"I said, you went to Naruto's apartment, something happened?" he again questioned gently when she stuttered a bit.

"N-No…we just a-ate a b-bit...a-and….and then I c-came back," nodding, he continued with his chore.

"I'm your father Ayame," Teuchi uttered making her eyes widen as she stood there, desperately trying to hold herself.

"I-It's nothing T-Tou…" her voice was choked as she sniffed in while Teuchi continued to wash dishes.

"You are crying…" he stated in a soft tone, now washing his hands. Ayame didn't respond when he stood up, turning off the tap before turning around to face her. Her head was lowered as tears continued to fall off her face as she quietly sobbed to himself. Tenderly taking hold of her chin, he lifted her face.

"What's wrong….Ayame-chan?" he asked with warmth in his voice, though he knew what the problem most probably was.

Ayame had her eyes closed when she buried her face into her father's embrace.

Teuchi's lips curled downwards as she started to sob uncontrollably, her painful cries echoing throughout the apartment.

He didn't say anything, rather just continued to rub her back comfortingly, his daughter's painful wails clenching his heart.

_'Naruto...'_ he thought, knowing that it was the pain of heartbreak that had her losing herself like that.

The old shinigami was not oblivious to the growing affection between Naruto and Rangiku, and he knew his daughter wasn't either. Ayame had feelings for the whiskered blonde since he could remember. He knew that the first time his daughter had laid eyes on little Naruto, she was instantly attracted to him. And the kid's bright, cheerful and charismatic personality only deepened those feelings for him.

"M-My...h-heart..." Teuchi was snapped out of his musings upon hearing her muffled voice, sobs escaping her lips endlessly.

"Ayame-chan...shh, don't worry, it's gonna be alright. Hold yourself musume," he whispered in a warm voice as she hugged him tightly, crying more loudly this time.

"I...c-can't!" she sniffed while his uniform was completely wet in the middle due to her tears. The elder Ichiraku sighed as he opted to let her release her emotions.

After several minutes of him patiently waiting for her to calm down, her sobs had finally subsided as they stood in silence with her occasional 'sniff's filling the kitchen.

"Aya-"

"T-Tou-san...it h-hurts so much. M-My heart...I-I can't bear it," her voice was muffled and quiet, but still held a lot of emotions, emotions that were raging inside her.

"I l-love him so much...and h-he...why?" her voice grew loud, surprising as a few more sobs escaped her. Teuchi turned his head as he stared at the main counter through a small opening in the kitchen wall, a certain memory playing back in his mind at that particular instant, something which was very dear to his daughter.

_**Flashback-Several Years Ago**_

"Thank you. Please come again!" Ayame, in her early teens spoke cheerfully as a few customers left the stand.

"Phew!" she sighed, wiping her forehead as the young waitress picked up the bowls before taking them back into the kitchen where her father was washing the dishes.

"Here Tou-san, I don't think anyone el-" she paused upon hearing the sound of bells making Teuchi smile.

"I think I can safely bet on who it can be at this point of time," he uttered, knowing that it was approaching eleven in the night.

Ayame's face, not so surprisingly twisted into an ecstatic smile as she practically blurred out of the kitchen.

"Naru-!" the ramen waitress blinked upon seeing no one, her lips curling down in disappointment.

_'Must be the wind then...'_ she thought when she heard some grumbling behind the counter. Walking forward, she stood on her tip-toes to peer over it.

"Damn these high chairs...why can't oji-san put some chairs for children like us," her eyes melted at the cute scene as little Naruto was clinging to the edge of the rather high seat, trying to climb up using his little knees.

The boy huffed as he scratched his head, a frown on his face as he glared at the offending material.

"I swear these chairs keep getting taller," he cursed with a pout when the blonde felt himself getting lifted.

"Here," he turned his head to see Ayame smiling sweetly at him. The whiskered blonde instantly grinned brightly.

"Ayame-chan!" he exclaimed making her giggle as she walked around the counter.

"I see you still have problems getting on the seat huh Naruto-kun?" she questioned in amusement making him huff in irritation.

"Well it's not my fault the damn thing is so tall'ttebayo!" a pout on his face while Ayame had to pinch herself from glomping him into a crushing hug.

Her smile though slowly turned into a concerned frown as she _now _noticed his condition. His blonde spikes were more unruly than usual, a deep cut on his forehead while his clothes looked dirty too.

"Naruto-kun, what happened?" she asked worriedly making him grin foxily.

"Heh, I was just playing with my friends in the playground and fell badly," he uttered making her frown deeper as she nodded lightly.

"So the usual right?" the brown haired waitress asked with a quick smile making him nod enthusiastically.

"Yep! I'm starving!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Ah! Ramen's the best! Keep bringing 'em Ayame-chan! I'm still hungry!" he spoke loudly, several bowls lying on the counter beside him when Ayame came out of the kitchen, a large tray in her hands with several food items on it.

Naruto squinted his eyes in confusion when she set the tray in front of him, a warm smile on her face.

"And here's something nutritional," she spoke making him frown as he spotted some vegetables.

"Green's about my least favorite color!" he exclaimed with a huff making her sigh.

"Naruto-kun, ramen is good once in a while but you can't ignore proper meals. How are you going to become a ninja if you just keep eating ramen?" she chided making him sigh when he noticed something white.

"Hey what's this white stuff? I've seen many people eating this," he asked in curiosity making her look at him in shock, her eyes slowly getting glossy as she stared at him.

Naruto lifted his eyes to notice her staring at him, her eyes wet.

"Ayame-chan?" the blonde asked in concern when she quietly walked around the counter to sit beside him.

Naruto watched her as she grabbed the chopsticks before pointing towards the bowl containing 'white stuff'.

"This white stuff is called rice, the main indegrient of everyone's meal in the village just like the broth is for ramen," Ayame spoke with a smile making him nod as she continued.

"And this brown stuff over the rice, which I've used as a topping, is a dry condiment called furikake. It gives flavor to plain rice. Now here...," her voice trailed as she mixed rice with the condiment properly using the chopsticks. Taking a small amount of it, she brought the chopsticks near his mouth.

"Try it," she urged with a smile while Naruto's eyes were currently widened, which were quickly getting wet now. Fanning his eyelids quickly, he leaned forward, eating the flavored rice.

Ayame watched him with a sad smile as he ate slowly, his first time eating rice.

"It's soft and...I like it! A bit spicy but it's tasty!" he verbalized with a smile as she smiled back brightly at him.

"I'm glad! Let's start now," she said, taking more rice from the bowl making him look at her, shock clearly evident on his face.

Little Naruto smiled warmly as he gently tried to take the chopsticks from her.

"You don't have to feed me Ayame-chan, I don't want to..."

"Well, I want to, now say ahh...," she uttered with a giggle while he quickly wiped his eyes before opening his mouth.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I can't eat anymore Ayame-chan!" Naruto whined as he rubbed his belly while holding a bowl in his hands.

"Nope you have to finish or no ramen for you tomorrow," she verbalized in a stern voice making him gulp.

Opening the lid of the bowl slightly like he was just taught to, he drank in the remaining miso soup in one go before setting it on the counter.

"Oh man, I've never been so filled in my life. This 'normal' food is heavy!" he articulated with a sigh as Ayame picked up the miso soup bowl before opening its lid.

Grabbing the chopsticks, she smiled in anticipation.

"Open wide Naruto-kun. These nutritional indegrients are not going to be eaten on their own," the blonde's eyes snapped open in horror but the look on Ayame's face was clear.

Pouting with a cry face much to her amusement, he opened his mouth as she began to feed him the remaining vegetables.

"There, see? That wasn't much difficult," she cheered making him grumble as he rubbed his stomach.

"Man, I don't even know what I ate today. But it sure was delicious!" Naruto added with a grin making her blush lightly.

"Well, what you just ate, as you know from eating ramen was miso soup. The solid indegrients in it which I just force fed you were negi, tofu, wakama seaweeds and boiled potatoes. The vegetables floating on the soup were the wakama seaweeds and the ones 'sinking' in the soup were boiled potatoes. Tofu and negi are indegrients which give strong flavor to the soup!" she explained as the blonde nodded eagerly, taking everything in like a sponge.

"And this special bowl with a lid is called lacquer bowl, in which miso soup is usually served," Naruto had a concentrated expression on his face as he nodded.

"But what are those noodles which I just ate called? I was surprised they didn't have any broth," he asked making her nod.

"That was kitsune udon. You liked it?" she asked as he nodded immediately.

"Yeah, kitsune udon is the best! Still, it comes second after my ramen," he spoke sheepishly making her giggle.

Ayame however snapped open her eyes when she felt herself being hugged tightly.

"N-Naruto?" she asked, now staring at the mop of blonde hair as she hugged him back, a furious blush on her face.

"A-Arigatou Ayame-chan..." he muttered while she could feel her dress gaining a wet spot. She smiled at him fondly as the teen rubbed his scalp lightly, a light shade of pink on her cheeks.

"B-Baka, there's no need to thank me. I will always be there to pick you up, no matter how many times you fall down," she stated as he tightened his hold on her.

A comfortable silence ensued between the two as she continued to hug him, a serene smile on her face.

"The villagers beat you today didn't they?" she asked with a soft look in her glossy eyes as he stiffened lightly before nodding a bit hesitantly.

Moving her other hand, Ayame slowly brought it to his forehead as she started to apply green reiryoku on his cut, having just mastered the basics of healing kido the other day. Naruto however was unaware as he reveled in the comfort.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, one day, all of them will recognize you. But you'll always have me standing beside you," she mumbled, a lone tear escaping her eye when he leaned back.

The blonde had his eyes closed as he wiped his wet cheeks, a light grin on his face.

"Ahehe, something got into my eyes," he uttered, now opening his eyes before they widened upon noticing her tears.

"Ayame-chan?

Ayame too smiled as she wiped her cheeks.

"I guess that something got into my eyes too," both laughed lightly at that, silly looks on their faces.

Teuchi, who was observing them quietly from the kitchen sweatdropped at their antics.

_'Well, they are kids after all.'_

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Ayame exclaimed as she quickly got off the seat to run over to the kitchen while Naruto had a confused look on his face.

She came moments later while Teuchi had made himself look busy in the kitchen to her.

"Here!" she spoke, giving him a packed lunch box while he looked at it in more confusion.

"It's your breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. It contains mochi (rice cakes), senbei (rice crackers) and onigiri (rice balls)," she verbalized as he looked at her in surprise.

"Um...Ayame-chan, I don't think I can afford this m-"

"It's on the house, so don't worry," she replied with a smile making him look at her like she had grown a second head.

"What? Are you crazy? All that food you fed me can't be just for free!" he exclaimed making her frown as she crossed her arms over chest.

"Well it is, so deal with it," she huffed making him sigh. Taking out his 'gama-chan', he pulled out some money before putting it on the counter.

"At least let me pay for the ramen, it's your business after all. Oji-san might get mad at you," he spoke in concern making her sigh.

"You're right. I would never charge you for even ramen but Tou-san would surely yell at me for dooming our stand...," she replied glumly making him grin.

"And oh! From now on, you'll be coming here every night at 10 to eat your proper dinner and to collect your breakfast and lunch for the next day," she practically ordered with a smile making Naruto's eyes bug out in mind boggling shock.

_'The hell?'_

"But Aya-"

"You heard her kid, that's an order. And for every night you miss your dinner, you won't get any ramen the next day, got it?" Teuchi spoke, standing at the doorway of the kitchen making Naruto gulp as he nodded quickly.

"Good, now get going. You need to get your sleep for the academy tomorrow," the elder Ichiraku spoke making the whisker blonde nod with a warm smile.

"Hey Ayame-chan...," he called, beckoning her to bend down towards him.

"Huh? What's wro-" her eyes widened when he kissed her on the cheek lightly before running out of the stand.

Ayame stood there, bent, a dark blush on her cheeks as she touched the spot where he had kissed. Teuchi smirked in amusement as he watched his daughter stream off into her lovesick land.

He raised his eyebrow when she started to run towards him, more specifically, into their apartment. Moments later she came running out, dressed in her shinigami garb.

"Ayame?"

"I have to make sure no drunken idiot attacks him on his way," she replied immediately making him nod. Just as she was about to leave, she spoke-

"And you better get finished with that Soul Replicating Pill of yours soon. Without it, we can't protect him completely with us being busy at work. He was attacked again just today!" she exclaimed with a frown before blurring out via shunpo while Teuchi sighed to himself.

_'Talk about being protective. Kushina sure would be extremely grateful to her.'_

_**Flashback Ends!**_

"Why...I w-was always there f-for him and...she...she just m-met him a month ago!" Teuchi was brought out of his musings upon hearing her loud pained voice.

He tightened his hold protectively as she clutched onto his dress tightly, not knowing what to do.

"Ayame-chan, you have to calm down," he spoke in a melancholic tone as a choked sob reached his ears.

"I...I love him so much Tou-san!" her cries were tearing his heart as he closed his eyes, her body shaking in his arms.

"I c-can't live without him...it h-hurts so much!" a lone tear escaped the confines of his eyelids as he held his daughter, knowing that nothing he could do in this situation, was going to help ease her pain.

_'Naruto...only you can help her.'_

**Well, quite the long chapter huh? It was 9.7K+ long, hope it makes up for the long wait.**

**That said, not much happened in this chapter. Still, whatever happened, was necessary...lol, but yeah, it was needed for the future.**

**And oh, something interesting regarding an Uchiha is gonna happen in the coming few chapters as well as Anko and Kurenai's fullbringers are going to be introduced in the coming battles along with Naruto discovering some abilities of his 'no-name' zanpakutou. :D**

**Anyway, please review, at least those reviews will urge me to update faster. So please, at least for the sake of me not being lazy and quickly writing the next chapter. **

**Well, see you guys next in the next chapter. :)**

**N6023**


	19. Learn The Difference

**Chapter 19- Learn The Difference: Shinobi and Shinigami**

"Ayame-chan, you have to calm down," he spoke in a melancholic tone as a choked sob reached his ears.

"I...I love him so much Tou-san!" her cries were tearing his heart as he closed his eyes, her body shaking in his arms.

"I c-can't live without him...it h-hurts so much!" a lone tear escaped the confines of his eyelids as he held his daughter, knowing that nothing he could do in this situation, was going to help ease her pain.

_'Naruto...only you can help her.'_

**Konoha: Naruto's Apartment: Around 3 AM **

Opening his eyes groggily in a hazy state, Naruto stared at the ceiling for a few seconds as he blinked a few times.

_'Oh yeah...'_ realization hit him as a furious blush covered his face upon remembering what he and the person snuggled into his chest had indulged themselves into.

_'I can't believe it...'_ he thought in wonder, the blush only darkening around his cheeks as his brain produced those images vividly, the unbelievable pleasure, her moans, her breasts...

He was the on the verge of passing out again now, blood flowing to his lower region again upon the thought of her breasts.

He still hadn't moved his neck, just staring blankly at the ceiling, afraid that if he would look at her, it will only set his hormones on fire again. He didn't know what had happened in the middle of their activity for him to become so aggressive suddenly, he was just acting on instincts after all.

_'I never thought it could feel that good.' _

The room was quiet, her light sounds of snoring along with ticking of clock being the exception. Turning his head to his right, opposite of where Rangiku was laying, he glanced at the clock.

_'Great, now I'm awake in the middle of the night...I guess I'll just try to go back to sleep,'_ he thought with a sigh, rubbing his right eye lazily.

His lips curled upwards as he tightened his hold on Rangiku to his left, pulling her deeper into his chest while their legs were mingled with each other.

A strange surge of something positive filled him, like a part of him was complete, like he had achieved something great. He felt happy, anxiously ecstatic and excited...it was really strange, he had never felt like this before.

Maybe this is what they called love.

His smile turned into a sad one as the blonde kept staring at the ceiling, his hair unruly.

_'Shiroi-chan...did you feel like this too?'_ an involuntary thought passed his mind.

"What's the matter Naruto-kun?" he snapped his head to find Rangiku staring back at him, amusement sparkling in her eyes.

"R-Rangiku-chan?!" he exclaimed, his voice hoarse, probably due to sleeping. The blonde lieutenant had a small, serene smile on her face as she hugged him tighter.

"I see I'm not the only one to wake up at this odd time huh?" she spoke with a light giggle while he averted his gaze, his cheeks red in embarrassment as he again remembered what they had done hours ago.

Matsumoto watched him with love in her eyes, a bright smile on her face as she too replayed the events in her mind. A light shade of pink dusted her cheeks upon remembering as to how aggressive he was, his dominating hands and mouth all over her body.

_'I never thought it could feel this good...' _she mused with a giggle making him look at her strangely.

"Rangiku-chan?" he asked in confusion as she looked at him.

"Oh Naruto!" she suddenly squealed, hugging him tightly while snuggling her cheek into his muscled chest. The whiskered blonde blinked, stupefied as another muffled squeal escaped her lips.

_'What the...?'_

"I'm so happy!" Matsumoto almost yelled, her voice reverberating throughout the room, her smile as bright as the sun as she gazed into his oceanic pools.

"And I presume it's because we...," his voice trailed, his cheeks again red while she laughed heartily, adding to his embarrassment.

"Yes! I'm happy that I'm finally one with you! I'm happy we made love! Oh the passion, the pleasure, you were so good Naruto-kun!" she chirped, giggling merrily at his tomato red face.

"S-Shut up!" the jinchuriki exclaimed in embarrassment as she squinted her eyes cutely, which was complimented by her childish pout.

"Why?! You don't have to be embarrassed about it!" bright mirth in her eyes as she rested her chin on his chest, tracing circles on the smooth skin with her index finger.

"Well technically..." he started with a scarlet blush, now feeling her luscious breasts pressed against his torso. Rangiku however grinned lightly as she pressed herself tightly onto him, grinding against his body lightly.

"...I-I'm still a twelve year old and I'm not used to this stuff," he uttered with a light scowl, biting back a groan- much to her amusement.

"Let's get back to sleep...we have to visit oji-san in the morning too," he reminded her, stomping on the urge to take her again.

Matsumoto sighed in mild disappointment as she sat up lazily.

_'And here I was hoping for another round. But oh well...he's mine now anyway,'_ she pondered with a small smile, trying to untangle her messy locks.

"You're not sleeping?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, involuntarily admiring the smooth skin of her bare back, her curvaceous figure.

A cute yawn escaped her lips as she rubbed her eyes.

"Nah...I don't feel like it. I'm hungry, so I'm going to fix something up," she verbalized, stretching her arms lazily above her head.

Naruto however watched her movements mesmerized, the border of her curvaceous tits visible from behind as they jiggled with each movement.

"Hmm...I think I'll cook some ramen," she muttered with a sly smile, knowing that he won't be missing out on that one.

"Along wi- N-Naruto?" two hands snaked around her bare waist as they slowly moved up.

Rangiku's eyes became half-lidded as she shivered at his touch. A low moan escaped her lips when he grabbed her tits, rubbing them lightly, having caught her off guard in the middle of her stretching with her arms above her head.

"Shhh..." came a voice tantalizingly close to her left ear, his breathing increasing her arousal.

"I guess I'll try to be a pervert for once Rangiku-chan," his voice teasing as he licked her earlobe, his hands gently groping her mounds making her moan.

"Nahh...Narutooo..." her voice quivered, her arms dropping down as they encircled around his head behind her, giving him full access to her breasts.

"Such firm and perky breasts...not sagging even a bit," he whispered, placing his hands on the underside of her fleshy globes, his hands moving up and down as if weighing them.

"Ah...yess..." she moaned, her breathing heavy while he licked her side neck.

"Do you even need to wear a bra?" he asked sensually, suckling on her earlobe. His hands firmly latched onto her fleshy globes, they were kneading them in circular motion, her nipples being pressed hard against his palms; her breathing heavy now while her eyelids fluttered lightly.

"N-No...but I don't want others to stare," she murmured, moaning loudly while he inwardly rolled his eyes, like hell others didn't stare with the amount of cleavage she usually put on display.

"Can I stare?" he whispered with a small grin, planting butterfly kisses along her side neck, driving her crazy.

_'Oh god...what gets him like this. One second he's so cute and shy...a-and the other, he's a bold and sexy hunk,'_ she pondered, wondering if he was bi-polar or something, especially when it came to anything of sexual nature? Though she definitely wasn't complaining!

"O-Only you can...they're all yours..." she sighed when he pinched her nipples making her moan loudly as her back arched in pleasure. The whiskered blonde began to grope her tits a bit roughly now, adding to her pleasure. His hands moved them in all directions, rubbing them against each other as his fingers sunk into the soft skin- making her melt into his dominating touch. Her hands were gently clutching his blonde locks on the back of his head.

"I'm yours...Naruto..." she said in a low tone though he clearly heard it.

"Prove it...Ran-giku-chan!" he whispered with a light grin before biting on her ear, suckling on her earlobe as her eyes almost rolled into the back of her head.

Faster than he could anticipate, Matsumoto turned around to crash her lips onto his, taking him by surprise as the duo fell back into the soft covers of the bed- making out with each other heavily, knowing that the rest of the night would be filled with their pleasurable moans, full of lust and love for each other.

**The Following Morning- Ichiraku's Apartment: Around 9 AM**

"TEUCHI-SAAAAN~?"

"Uh...you don't have to yell, he can sense our reiatsu," Naruto, back in his real body, spoke with a sigh as the duo entered the apartment.

"TEUCHI-SAAAAN~?" Rangiku called loudly again in her sing-song voice making the jinchuriki's left eye twitch.

"Stop ignoring me!" he exclaimed, just behind her while the blonde lieutenant had a skip in her step, a bright smile on her face.

"Oh shush Naruto! I'm just in a good mood today!" her face practically glowing while Naruto blushed, immediately knowing the reason.

"You're always in a good mood," he grumbled making her twirl on her toes, a playful pout on her face.

"Yeah but...I'm in extra good mood today!" she chirped as the whiskered blonde sat on the couch, a light smile onto his face. You couldn't help but smile at her antics.

_'Sometimes I think that she's my age, like we are best friends,'_ he mused with a chuckle when the door to Ayame's bedroom, behind the couch Naruto was sitting on, opened as Teuchi walked out with a weak smile on his face.

"Ah, good morning you two. I see you're as cheerful as always," he spoke with a light laugh while Naruto peered over the top edge of the couch, giving him his foxy grin.

"Yup! But I'm surprised Ayame-chan is still sleeping. She's usually the one to wake up pretty early in the morning," Matsumoto uttered, her smile fading as she remembered the food she found on their dining table this morning.

A great wave of nervousness had washed over her then. Knowing that Ayame had entered the apartment, there were two options from there, one that she noticed both of them sleeping and quietly left the apartment. The second option had drained the color out of Rangiku's face. She had hoped, was still hoping, that the first option had taken place.

And the fact that Ayame was still sleeping activated all the alarms in her head. She hadn't told Naruto about this, not yet. First she had to know for herself. Although she hated to hide anything from him, this could be a serious matter.

"Well..." Teuchi sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, his eyes looking tired.

"She worked till late at night and just needs her sleep," he spoke making Naruto nod with a smile while Matsumoto inwardly sighed in relief.

_'I guess she came when we were sleeping,'_ she deduced.

"Ne oji-san, you too look tired. You should get some rest. And where is Urahara-san?" Naruto asked, now jumping off the couch.

"Kisuke is down there in the chamber, waiting for you. I think I'll sleep for a bit after all," the elder Ichiraku murmured as he rubbed the back of his neck, a weary sigh escaping his lips.

Naruto nodded in understanding before speaking as he remembered something.

"Oh yeah...I need a Soul Replicating pill, team placements would be taking place today. I'm finally gonna be a genin now!" his eyes glittering with excitement.

GLOMP!

"Then let's celebrate tonight!" Rangiku cheered, pushing her voluptuous breasts into his head from behind, having wrapped her arms around his neck in the process.

Naruto's cheeks began to heat up as he wriggled out of her grasp, making her pout.

"Don't do that stuff in public!" he exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger as she batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Oh...does that mean I can do that in private?!" a bright smile on her face, her sky blue orbs emanating joy at the prospect of teasing him mercilessly like that.

The whiskered blonde began to sputter as he took a startled step back, his cheeks crimson red in embarrassment.

"P-Pervert!"

"Oh, I'm a pervert? What happened to the things you did and said when we had s-" faster than the eye could blink, he had jumped on the couch, reaching her height to clamp her mouth shut- his cheeks practically glowing red along with his ears.

"Fine I understand!" he exclaimed while Rangiku's cheeks were tinted a light shade of pink as she remembered the things he did to her...she just couldn't get it out of her mind. It also didn't help that his comparatively smaller and softer hand felt good on her lips.

_'I've got to try that cute little body of his too,'_ she thought, a perverted muffled giggle escaping her lips while Naruto sighed in relief. Really, did she understand the meaning of proper public behavior?!

Meanwhile, Teuchi was gazing at the scene in front of him with a sad smile on his face.

_'They really do keep each other happy...'_ he thought, glancing behind him at the door of Ayame's bedroom, a pained expression crossing his face.

_'What do I do?'_

Turning back, he forced a smile before taking out a green pill from a small square box in his pocket.

"Here Naruto, eat this," the duo turned towards him as the jinchuriki jumped off the couch. Taking the small, light green pill, the blonde inspected it closely with a concentrated look on his face making Matsumoto almost again glomp him while yelling 'Kawai!'.

"No, it doesn't have ramen flavor," Teuchi deadpanned making Naruto sweatdrop.

"I wasn't checking for that old man," he grumbled before gulping it down.

In a display of small flash along with glowing blue strings, Naruto in his shinigami form came out, his zanpakutou sheathed along his side.

"There you go," Teuchi spoke with a nod, now gazing at Naruto's real body who right now was blinking in confusion.

"So it worked huh?" the small Naruto spoke, staring at his hands while the adult one walked around to bend to his level, a concentrated expression on his face while his hand cupped his chin.

"Hmm...so your my replicated soul?" he asked making the chibi one nod with a grin.

"Yup!"

"Prove it," shinigami Naruto uttered making the chibi's eyes snap open in surprise before a look of confusion formed on his face.

Rangiku meanwhile was in her own fantasy land, a giggle escaping her lips. Her mind was coming up with all kinds of possibilities.

_'So I've got the sexy hunk Naruto as well as the cute shota' Naruto...oh the possibilities!'_ another strange giggle escaped her lips as she wiped the blood drops off her nose while Teuchi sweatdropped at her.

_'This surely isn't your everyday couple.'_

"But...how?" chibi Naruto asked, tilting his head when shinigami Naruto stood up, a mysterious air around him as he walked towards the window- gazing outside.

_'I can't believe I'm about to even say this!'_

Turning around, he yelled dramatically.

"Ramen is the worst shit in the whole damn world!"

...

...

...

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE HOLY RAMEN! LEMME AT HIM! LEMME AT HIM! LEMME AT HIM DATTEBAYO!" chibi Naruto shouted comically, flailing his hands in the direction of shinigami Naruto while Teuchi was holding onto the back of his collar with a bored expression on his face.

"Yosh! Now that proves it!" shinigami Naruto exclaimed with a grin before turning to Matsumoto, who was giggling at his antics.

"Let's go Rangiku-chan!" the duo walked towards Teuchi's bedroom while chibi Naruto was still trying to free himself.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS ASSHOLE!" Teuchi sweatdropped, this was getting ridiculous now. Leave it to Naruto to fight with his own replicated soul.

"See you later son, be nice to other students and keep that body safe! Make your father proud!" shinigami Naruto spoke loudly over his shoulder as he entered the bedroom, bursting out in laughter at the scream of rage coming from his chibi counterpart.

"Oh! Oh! Me too! Make sure to make your mommy proud sochi! And if a certain pink haired girl tries to physically abuse you, bitch slap her! Do your best!" Matsumoto joined in as she too entered the bedroom, closing the door behind her as she too broke out into uncontrollable fits of giggles while shinigami Naruto had a storming blush on his face, realizing the implications of what she had just said.

"Calm down kid," Teuchi muttered with a yawn, still holding onto chibi Naruto.

"CALM DOWN?! HE'S NOT MY DAD AND SHE'S NOT MY MOM! THEY'RE NOT MY PARENTS!" he was now panting, his face completely red while Teuchi sighed.

"Well they do look like your parents actually. Both of them have blonde hair and blue eyes...like you."

"SHUT UP!" chibi Naruto yelled back comically, an irritated expression on his face while his arms were crossed over his chest now.

"You better go now, team placements are going to begin soon," the elder Ichiraku verbalized making him huff.

"You're a ramen chef, and he just insulted the stuff you make," he muttered, walking towards the exit while Teuchi's eyes widened in realization.

...

...

"NARUTO YOU ASSHOLE!"

The chibi Naruto sweatdropped, grumbling about 'senile old men' as he exited the apartment.

**Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Training Chamber**

"Ah! I've been waiting for you Uzumaki-san~!" Kisuke spoke in his usual sing-song voice as the blonde duo walked towards him in the middle of the training ground.

"Huh? Where'd that huge pillar thing go?" Naruto asked in confusion, looking for the huge structure which was just there yesterday. Rangiku had a small frown on her face as she stared at Kisuke.

"It wasn't needed anymore Uzumaki-san. But anyway, we're here for something important today," he started, tipping his hat forward with his voice growing serious at the end.

Naruto turned his head back towards him, immediately sensing the serious aura.

_'Good, the barriers are in place now.'_

"Well originally Teuchi was supposed to do this, but he needs his rest today," the bucket hat wearing shinigami muttered before he started to walk away from them making Naruto look at him in confusion.

_'What is he planning? He's acting rather weird now...'_ Rangiku thought as she clenched her fists.

"We are one of the very rare male shinigami whose zanpakutou spirit is a female Uzumaki-san," Kisuke spoke loudly as he kept walking away from them.

"It's rare?" the whiskered blonde asked while Matsumoto stood by his side, warily observing Kisuke's movements.

"Indeed," Urahara answered as he stopped walking, now turning around to face them, his right hand holding his cane with its base touching the ground.

An awkward silence ensued between them while Naruto too could sense that it was getting tense.

"What do you fight for Uzumaki-san?" he questioned, his eyes still shadowed while Naruto spoke immediately, the answer rolling off his tongue.

"To my protect my precious people."

"And that drives, gives you the strength to defeat your opponents?" Kisuke's lazy tone completely mismatched the serious aura around him while Naruto nodded firmly at his question.

"Yes, that's my nindo," the determination in his voice could not be mistaken while Rangiku smiled at him warmly.

"I see. Then..." Kisuke started as he lifted his cane off the ground to point it lazily at Naruto.

"Let's test this nindo of yours shall we?" Naruto's eyes widened when the cane started to dematerialize, more like it's outer material started to peel off- soon revealing a standard katana.

_'Is that his zanpakutou? But...he's still in his physical body,'_ the jinchuriki thought in shock.

"What do you mean test his nindo?" Matsumoto questioned a bit aggressively while Kisuke stood there, still pointing the katana towards Naruto.

"**Okiro**...**Benihime** (Awaken: Crimson Princess)."

SZWOOSH!

A slicing wave of crimson energy shot off the tip of Kisuke's zanpakutou as it collided into the duo at lightning speeds, having crossed the distance within the fraction of a second.

The resulting smoke slowly cleared out for Kisuke too see a transparent triangular yellowish shield, standing behind which was Rangiku with a serious expression.

Naruto was standing behind her, visibly surprised by the sudden attack.

"What's the meaning of this?!" she exclaimed in anger, now canceling the shield as Naruto walked forward, his eyes getting narrowed.

"Hm...that's a surprise. You should have been able to react quicker than her Uzumaki-san. Why, is it because you were not expecting an attack?" Kisuke spoke, feigning surprise as he let Benihime fall to his side, holding it lazily.

"I don't know what's the purpose of this training, but that move could have injured me seriously. You could've at least warned me before starting," Naruto verbalized seriously, unsheathing his zanpakutou slowly as he stood beside Rangiku.

"Oh, but I didn't want to injure you Uzumaki-san," Urahara replied in amusement as he lifted his hat a bit, a small grin on his face.

"That attack was meant to kill you," both Rangiku and Naruto's eyes widened upon feeling a drastic increase in pressure around them as they were pushed down to their knees.

_'S-Such humongous reiatsu!' _Matsumoto thought in shock as she instantly released all her reiatsu, now barely able to stand up.

"Heh, two can play at this game," the whiskered blonde muttered with a smirk as his reiatsu sky rocketed in a flash of shockwave protruding out of his crouching form.

"Ngh! N-Na..." glancing sideways, he was surprised to see Rangiku now on both her hands and knees as she panted heavily under the two reiryoku power houses.

"Oh, it seems you don't have any control over your reiatsu...wild and untamed," Kisuke uttered, holding his hat as Naruto stared back at him with a solemn expression.

_'Just like Kurosaki-san huh?' _Urahara mused.

A smirk formed on his lips however when all of the jinchuriki's reiatsu was slammed onto him while Matsumoto stood a bit wobbly, taking deep breaths.

"Don't underestimate me...Urahara-san," the blonde verbalized with a serious expression.

_'So he does know how to control his reiatsu...interesting,'_ the ex-captain of 12th squad pondered.

_'His reiatsu is even higher than that of Naruto. It's because of both of ours combined reiatsu that we are able to stand. Even though he was a captain...I never imagined he could be this strong,'_ Matsumoto thought as she wiped the sweat off her brow, staring at Kisuke with somewhat wide eyes.

"I see..." his right hand holding Benihime, Kisuke brought it diagonally towards his left side, a grim expression on his face.

Matsumoto's eyes further widened...

"**Nake, Benihime! **(Sing, Crimson Princess)"

SLOSHH!

"**Unare, Haineko! **(Growl, Ash Cat)"

Having fired a wide arc of crimson colored energy by swinging Benihime in a slashing motion upwards, it collided with a wall of dense ash particles, effectively canceling the attack.

Kisuke's eyes widened just a little bit before returning to his lazy stare while the wall disintegrated into uncountable ash particles as they surrounded both Naruto and Rangiku.

_'He really is trying to kill me!'_ Naruto thought in realization, Matsumoto standing in front of him with a serious and calm expression. Inwardly however, she was pissed.

_'I don't know what kind of training is this or if Teuchi-san really agreed to this, but I refuse to let them put Naruto through this. He has already suffered enough and there are other ways to get stronger,'_ a scowl on her face.

"Stop this, this isn't the way to train him. If you think that putting him under a life threatening situation is going to push him past his limits and make him stronger, you're wrong. You'll only succeed in pulling out the bijuu's chakra inside him," she uttered making Naruto's eyes widen as he continued to stand behind her. It was not what she spoke that surprised him, it was the tone of her voice. Since he had met her, the blonde had never heard her speak like this. Her voice, it was so serious, so cold; it showed why she was a vice captain, it indicated the deadly experience she had under her belt.

"He has suffered enough already and I don't want you trying to kill him based on a superfluous theory of pushing him past his limits. We don't need to hurry and he can train himself under normal methods. I don't know why Teuchi-san agreed to this, or if he even did for that matter...but, I will not refrain from killing you if you continue with this," she finished, the ash particles swirling around her and Naruto in a defensive manner.

_'Rangiku-chan...'_ he thought, kind of shocked that she was being so protective of him.

Kisuke had a grave expression on his face as he lifted his hat, his cold eyes now visible.

"You're free to try...Matsumoto-san," he uttered, Benihime now being covered in that same crimson energy.

_'He's charging his attack this time!'_ she thought in realization when Kisuke made another upward slash.

"**Nake!**"

**SWISHHH!**

A _much _faster and a highly condensed crimson arc flew towards them at blundering speeds.

BOOM!

It passed through where the blonde duo were standing, to crash into a large boulder resulting in an explosion.

"Ahh...you were able to react this time, you're fast I have to admit. Is it because you were ready to dodge this time?" Kisuke asked loudly, his hat shadowing his face while Naruto stood above him on a reishi platform, holding Rangiku by her waist.

"You won't have been able to stop that one Rangiku-chan," he spoke, releasing her while she was looking at him in surprise.

_'It's not that his shunpo is naturally fast, it's his body's reaction time, his reflexes...they are astounding. It must be because of his lightning type zanpakutou,' _Urahara thought before he vanished in a blur.

Rangiku narrowed her eyes when he vanished via shunpo while Naruto too seemed to be on his guard.

Being the experienced one, she turned back solely on instinct, expecting an attack from behind them.

"I'm not your cliché opponent who teleports to appear behind you," appearing in front of them, Kisuke went for a slash towards Rangiku...

"**Shou! **(Thrust)" before he was pushed away by several meters, courtesy of Naruto having thrusted him back using kido, his palm outstretched.

Matsumoto's eyes were widened as she stared at Naruto, not believing her eyes.

_'How was he able to react so quickly? He wasn't that fast before.'_

"That was surprising," Kisuke uttered, standing in front of them on a reishi platform.

_'I guess his zanpakutou being unsealed from that seal has led to him inheriting some of her powers,'_ he thought while Naruto was glaring at him.

"You try to kill her again, and you're dead," the blonde spoke in a cold tone. Rangiku would've blushed at his protectiveness if it wasn't for the serious situation.

"I think I've already cleared that, you're free to try it Uzumaki-san," Kisuke's voice was completely uncharacteristic of his usual tone.

"You said you're nindo was to protect your precious people, and I said I want to test your nindo. Let's see if you can protect her," he said, holding his hat with his left hand.

"You're insane," Matsumoto articulated as she glared at him.

"We'll see if you can react this time?" Urahara declared before again blurring out of their vision via shunpo.

"Ngh!" Naruto exclaimed upon being kicked on the chest as he went sailing towards the ground.

CLING!

Haineko, now in its katana form, clashed with Benihime as Matsumoto glared at him in anger.

"If you lay another hand on him..." she gritted her teeth as Kisuke began to overpower her easily, an amused look on his face.

"Oh? Is there something I should be afraid of?" he spoke, abruptly focusing his huge reiatsu on her making her grit her teeth due to exertion.

Haineko began to crack as Rangiku struggled under the blundering force, her both hands holding the hilt while Kisuke looked to be taking it easy as he held Benihime with his right hand.

_'This guy...is insanely strong,' _she thought when he spoke in an icy tone.

"**Nake, Benihime!**" her eyes widened in horror when red crimson covered his zanpakutou, being charged at a point blank range.

KSHOOM!

Naruto suddenly appeared beside Urahara, a thin stream of blood down his forehead, his eyes narrowed coldly as went for a slash at Kisuke's midsection.

...

_'What?!' _the blonde thought in shock, his zanpakutou's blade currently being held by Kisuke bare-handed. The ex-captain stared at him indifferently before averting his gaze towards a struggling Matsumoto, Benihime still being covered by the crimson energy.

_'No...'_

Naruto's eyes widened in fear as he watched the energy grow. His own zanpakutou began to crack under the pressure of Kisuke's grip.

"No!"

BOOM!

A red colored blast occurred at point blank range, sending gusts of violent winds while Rangiku descended towards the ground, smoke arising out of her form.

"Rangiku-chan!"

CRNK!

Trying to free himself along with his zanpakutou, Naruto snapped his head back upon hearing a clattering sound- only to see his blade being broken into half by Kisuke- a cold look in his shadowed eyes.

Getting over the momentary shock, Naruto quickly flash stepped towards Rangiku- who had righted herself in midair to land wobbly on the ground.

_'If I hadn't used the __**Enkousen **__(Round Lock Fan) at the last second to shield myself, it would've caused serious damage. He's not holding back,'_ Matsumoto thought, currently crouching on the ground as she panted a bit, a few bruises on her forearms and face.

"Rangiku-chan, you okay?!" Naruto asked after appearing in front of her, a concerned look in his eyes as he examined her for any injury.

"Y-Yeah...be careful Naruto, he's very strong," she informed, now standing up shakily when he noticed the blood dripping down her left hand, her shinigami garb torn along her left arm.

"Aaah~...that was pretty impressive Rangiku-san. To use Enkousen with just your left hand, a rare feat for a vice captain. Though I see you couldn't form it in time," hearing Kisuke's voice from above, still examining Matsumoto's left arm, Naruto could feel anger boiling inside of him as he gritted his teeth.

Turning his head, he glared hatefully at Urahara, his broken zanpakutou in his hands while the air started to get denser around him.

"You'll regret this," Rangiku watched him in surprise as small sparks of lightning began to course around his body, just like before.

A faint smirk formed on Kisuke's lips as he 'hmm'ed loudly.

"Nah...I'm not the one to regret things later. I tend to think what I'm trying to do is right...or rather, what I'm trying to do is right," he spoke, now feeling Naruto's reiatsu starting to go past his usual limit.

_'I knew it...even though his reiryoku reserves were already large, some part of it had been sealed with his zanpakutou spirit. He just doesn't know how to tap into them. Good thing Hiruzen-san tightened the seal strongly, this will keep the beast inside him at bay.'_

"Rangiku-chan, stay here," the whiskered blonde muttered before vanishing in a burst of reiatsu, before she could protest.

_'He just got faster,'_ Kisuke thought when Naruto appeared beside him, his index finger pointing towards him.

"**Hainawa!** (Crawling Rope)" a yellowish rope, made up of reishi shot from his index finger to wrap around Urahara's wrist, the one holding Benihime. Pulling Kisuke towards him with brute strength, he went for a kick at his midsection.

DHUK!

"Is that it?" Urahara asked in amusement, Naruto's foot thrusted into his gut while the blonde had a surprised look in his eyes.

_'What's this guy made of? It felt like I hit steel,'_ he thought before noticing a blurry palm approaching his chest. His right hand busy holding Hainawa with the other holding his zanpakutou, Naruto only had the time to bring up his left forearm in front of his chest.

BHAM!

"Gargh!" the blonde exclaimed in searing pain as he was sent flying back due to the crushing palm thrust, his feet skidding in midair on the reishi platform.

_'His reaction time is incredible. Even vice captain level shinigami won't have been able to react to that.'_

His form coming to a halt, Naruto fell to his knees as he coughed some blood, holding his chest in pain.

_'What...insane strength!' _he thought in shock, barely able to register when Rangiku appeared beside him via shunpo, a worried expression on her face.

"Naruto, are you alright?!" her voice slightly panicked, holding his shoulder as she rubbed his back gently. She turned her head to glare at a standing Kisuke, who hadn't moved from his place.

"Are you crazy?! You're trying to kill us!" her voice containing several emotions- panic, desperation, anger...and fear, not only for her, but for Naruto's safety too. This guy, to her, was insane- an exiled captain level criminal who seemed to be okay on experimenting on his fellow shinigami, and that too to turn them into hollows. He just wasn't in the right state of mind.

"Why are you so surprised? Am I not an exiled criminal of Seireitei?" Kisuke questioned, his tone serious as he started to walk towards them.

"Naruto...let's ge-"

"Uzumaki-san..." Kisuke called as he kept walking lazily towards them while Naruto, who was panting, lifted his head- a pained expression on his face while Rangiku was knelt by his side.

"I can see you trying to protect your precious people, though it seems it's not effective. Can't you see I'm trying to kill you?" Matsumoto squinted her eyes in confusion, Kisuke's demeanor had suddenly changed. Naruto too seemed to be perplexed.

"Can't you feel the resolve in my zanpakutou, to kill you? Can't you feel the resolve in Rangiku-san's zanpakutou, to protect you? I can feel your resolve to protect her, but I can't feel anything from your zanpakutou. Can you feel the resolve to protect Rangiku-san from your zanpakutou?" Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at his broken blade.

"Is it that your zanpakutou refuses to obey you?...Or is it that your resolve is not strong enough to reach her, maybe she can't listen to you at all, maybe she can't feel anything from you?"

"You have no right to say his resolve is not strong enough! He saved the whole village while risking his life even when the rest of us had lost hope!" Matsumoto fired back angrily, defending Naruto, who was staring at his zanpakutou.

"You could've tried to stab me back there, but you went for a kick. Why so afraid to go for the kill? A katana is meant to kill. A zanpakutou is meant to kill, however without the resolve to do so, it becomes dull...weak. Fighting with a zanpakutou, you're trying not to kill. It's like trying to swim against the river current, you and your zanpakutou disagree with each other. I guess your nindo contradicts your zanpakutou's desire Uzumaki-san," both Naruto and Rangiku stayed silent as he continued.

"There's a difference between a ninja and a shinigami. When you take the responsibility of the spiritual world, you've got a whole new game in front of you. When you hold a zanpakutou instead of a kunai, you've got a whole new world for unlike a disposable kunai, your zanpakutou is not just a weapon. When holding a zanpakutou, you are a shinigami. Unlike a shinobi, you do not conceal yourself, for you don't need to, you're the God of Death after all. Learn the differences Uzumaki-san, shinobi rules don't apply here. Learn to swap your nindo quickly," Kisuke murmured as he sealed back Benihime, much to Rangiku's relief.

"I have killed hundreds of hollows over the month," Naruto stated as a matter of fact making the ex-captain smirk as he lifted his bucket hat slightly with his index finger.

"Really? Were you killing the hollows? Or were you actually purifying those souls of their deeds before sending them to Soul Society?" amusement in his voice as his sealed zanpakutou turned back into a cane.

Naruto lowered his head slightly while Rangiku kept her cautious eyes on Kisuke, who shunpo'ed to appear on the ground, below them.

"Well, this training session is over. I have to return now. I've said goodbye to the others already, so see you soon Uzumaki-san," Urahara spoke as a large dimensional rift opened in front of him.

"Remember what I said Uzumaki-san, it's going to make you live through many of your upcoming toughest fights," Naruto stood up along with Rangiku as he turned his head towards Kisuke, nodding lightly.

"Ja ne!" he exclaimed cheerfully before stepping into the rift as it slowly started to close.

Rangiku sighed as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright Naruto?" her voice soft as he turned his head to smile at her.

"Yeah but...the fighting style of shinigami is different. Earlier I thought it was similar to us ninja, but what Urahara-san said, I don't get it completely...I'm getting confused here. For years I have trained like a ninja, moved like a ninja...all I've read about, the moves I've seen people doing, were all ninja techniques. This zanpakutou thing, how is it not a tool like a kunai? I mean, no matter how you look at it, it's just a katana with a living spirit, and that spirit too is like a materialization of our spiritual sub consciousness. In kenjutsu regarding ninja techniques, we learn to handle a katana, channeling chakra through it and practicing with it...in the end, we train to handle that tool properly. I...," he spoke, a confused look in his eyes while Matsumoto smiled warmly as she kissed his cheek.

"Don't worry, I'll explain it later to you," she uttered softly. She knew that being a ninja and a shinigami, the quick transition between the two was not easy- the fighting styles were completely different. She too had problems when she became a kunoichi a month ago, however, the transition from shinigami to shinobi was much simpler as compared to reverse one.

"But how am I supposed to bond with my zanpakutou spirit when she herself doesn't know her name. Add to fact that I've got a crazy bijuu and a maniacal hollow inside of me who'll try to kill me if I enter my soulscape," he muttered with a sigh, a small frown on his face as the jinchuriki clutched his chest, wincing from the injured area.

"Naruto...just take it easy for now, we shinigami train for thousands of years in Seireitei to hone our skills. And you've only been one for a month, it takes time and training for these things. If you pressure yourself so much, you'll just crack under it," she said softly, hugging him lightly.

"Huh? Does that mean you're one thousand years old?" he asked in genuine confusion.

Pinch!

"OW! What was that for?!" he exclaimed when she pinched his arm _tightly. _

Leaning back from the hug, she scowled at him.

"That was rude of you Naruto."

"Huh?"

His eyes though widened upon noticing her lightly bleeding arm.

"Hey you're bleeding Rangiku-chan! Ayame-chan must be up, she'll heal you," he verbalized in concern as she turned around.

"I can take care of myself, let's go," Matsumoto articulated in an indifferent tone before she flash stepped away, leaving a confused Naruto.

_'What the...did I do something wrong now?'_

**Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment**

"Rangiku-chan, how are you feeling now?" Naruto asked worriedly, currently bandaging her forearm gently while she was sporting a straight face. The whiskered blonde was bent on the floor in front of her.

"I'm fine. Why would you care for a thousand year old lady anyway?" she muttered with a 'hmph' making him squint his eyes in confusion, still wrapping the bandage.

"So you really are thousand years old?" he asked in awe as a tic mark grew on her forehead at that. Just as she was about to react, he spoke...

"But that doesn't matter much, you look like you're in your early twenties," he murmured with a shrug as a blush found it's way on her cheeks.

_'If it weren't for his damn charms, I really would've...'_ she thought with a sigh, now gazing at his handsome face, the care in his eyes warming her heart as she smiled at him fondly.

"There..." he muttered, tearing off the remaining bandage as he stood up, giving her a small grin making her smile back at him, feeling not so enthusiastic for some reason like she was an hour ago. She had this bad feeling in her gut.

"I'll go check if Ayame-chan is awake, she's been asleep for quite some time now," he said, now walking towards her bedroom while Rangiku had a hesitant expression on her face.

_'Something is...just not right,'_ she pondered with a small scowl while Teuchi too did not seem to be in the apartment currently, judging by the absence of his reiatsu signature.

**Ayame's Bedroom**

"Ayame-chan?" Naruto called softly as he entered the room, closing the door. The moment the door closed completely with a click, his eyes widened when his senses started to pick entirely different things in the room.

One, Teuchi's reiatsu was here, and he didn't need to wonder about that cause the old man was right beside Ayame's bed, sleeping on a chair.

Two, Ayame's reiatsu was very weak, it was like a dwindling weak pulse unlike the steady signature they were feeling outside.

_'What's going on here?' _he stood frozen as he spotted all sorts of strange medicines on the dresser beside her bed.

Naruto's heart began to beat faster as he quickly scurried to Ayame's other side.

"A-Ayame-chan?" his blood ran cold upon seeing the uncomfortable expression on her sleeping face, tear stains on her moist cheeks- an indicator that she had been crying recently, probably in her sleep.

"Na...Naruto...kun..." she murmured in a low tone. Another tear escaping her left eye as she wriggled uncomfortably.

Naruto's heart clenched painfully at the sight, a wave of anxious concern washing over him as he quickly bent beside her.

Placing his hand on her forehead, his eyes widened.

_'She's burning!' _he thought in alarm as she continued to mutter something incoherent, more tears flowing down her cheeks. The jinchuriki felt his heart being stabbed repeatedly at seeing her in so much pain.

_'Why...why is she crying? What's going on here? She was completely alright just yesterday!'_ he then turned towards a sleeping Teuchi, his eyes narrowing.

_'Why would oji-san lie to me? It could be that he did not want me to worry about her but it makes no sense for her get so sick in such a short time. She herself is such a great healer, and why is she crying while saying my name?!'_ Naruto was panicking now, something obviously wasn't right. Teuchi had even gone as far so as to produce a fake reiatsu signature for Ayame as well as mask his own, this had to be serious.

Now staring at her face, he gently grabbed her left hand, surprised when she immediately squeezed it in her sleep- holding onto it tightly.

Lifting his left hand, he rested it on her head, wiping the sweat off her forehead, a vulnerable expression on his face.

"Ayame-chan...what happened?" he asked in a whisper, his eyes growing moist at the fragile sight.

"Na...ruto...don't...leave," she again whispered, her eyebrows knitted in discomfort while he grew confused...and more panicked at that.

_'Why...why would I leave you Ayame-chan?'_

His eyes narrowed as he squeezed her hand back. The blonde leaned closer to her as he spoke seriously.

"I would never leave you Ayame-chan," he didn't know what was wrong with her, but somehow...he had been the source of discomfort for her, and that made it worse. Naruto couldn't stand it.

She had done so much for him. Those tears...they were because of him for some reason, and it was choking his heart.

"I will not leave you Ayame-chan...ever. That's the promise of a lifetime," he declared a bit loudly, his oceanic orbs filled with determination as he gave her cold hand a gentle squeeze again.

The expression on her face relaxed as her eyebrows began to flutter lightly.

...

Hazy chocolate brown orbs met concerned oceanic blue pools.

"Na...ruto...kun..."

**Konoha- Dango Stand**

"Man, I never get tired of these!" Anko exclaimed, happily chewing on her dumplings as she sat opposite to her best friend, Kurenai Yuhi.

"I swear, you and your obsession with dango. And you always complain about Naruto being obsessed with ramen," Kurenai spoke with a sigh, an empty plate in front of her.

"Meh, that gaki needs to eat what his sensei eats. That disrespectful brat, daring to say ramen is the best. I mean, sure that stuff is good but those noodles got no dibs on these dumplings!" the purple hair jounin spoke in between her eating, a light blush on her cheeks.

"Anko-chan...why is Naruto usually reserved around me? I've noticed he acts normal around you, Rangiku-san and those owners of ramen stand though," Kurenai asked out of nowhere, a curious look in her ruby eyes. Anko smirked lightly as she picked another stick from her plate, remembering what Kurenai had said when hollows had attacked that night.

"_I don't know about anything, and I don't think Naruto trusts me enough to tell me everything. But still, do tell him that we are friends….that we were friends before too. Tell him that I consider him as a good friend and he need not hold himself back in front of me. I don't even know if I'm fit to be called his sensei or not."_

"Don't worry Kurenai-chan, it just takes time for him to get comfortable around others. Just make him realize that you don't hate him like the other idiots," she verbalized with a smile making the ice queen nod with a small smile. A teasing grin soon formed on Anko's face as she retorted...

"You should've told me before that you have a crush on the gaki Kurenai-chan!" Kurenai sighed, opting to stay quiet, Anko and her teasing...really, no use fighting back.

_'Hehe...only if you remembered his hot shinigami form Kurenai-chan,'_ the purple haired jounin thought when suddenly she stopped eating, feeling something.

_'This reiatsu...,'_ Kurenai too seemed to have a surprised expression on her face, both feeling a familiar signature.

**Konoha: Uchiha Clan Estate**

_'I wonder who would be in Sasuke's team...I hope it's Naruto-kun though,'_ Mikoto thought, currently washing dishes in the kitchen, humming a pleasant tune lightly.

Sasuke had just left a few minutes ago for the academy, his behavior cold and indifferent as usual.

_'I really hope it's like that...I'm sure Naruto-kun will be able to change him, he has always managed to cheer me up after all,'_ she thought with a light giggle, that blonde ball of energy sure kept things bright.

A depressed sigh escaped her lips, a sudden realization hitting her that Naruto hadn't come to visit her since a few weeks.

_'Earlier he used to stop by almost everyday. But now...' _she thought, staring at her reflection on the window glass in front of her.

Knock! Knock!

She was snapped out of her trance upon hearing the knocks on the front door.

"Coming!" quickly washing her hands before wiping them dry, she walked to the living room before opening the door.

Mikoto felt all of her muscles freeze in shock as she stood there, staring at the man she thought to have been dead several years ago, the one who was killed right in front of her eyes.

"Long time no see, Mikoto."

"F-Fugaku..."

**There you go, hope you liked this chapter. Quite a few things happened in this chapter, so that's good I guess, at least the plot is on the roll now- unlike the initial chapters.**

**I really liked writing Kisuke's part though, I was looking forward to that. And don't worry about Ayame, Naruto did give her the promise of a lifetime after all. ;)**

**Also prepare for some drama in the upcoming chapters, cause this isn't the usual fic where women readily agree to share their man. Naruto will face his share of trouble, and I'll try to make it as realistic and enjoyable for you as possible. And I'll make sure not to overload drama part, I'll keep it balanced. :)**

**Also, please review. You may not have any idea as to how much they help me, especially when it comes to inspiration. :)**

**See you guys next chapter.**

**N6023**


	20. We Were Condemned! We Were Foolish!

**Chapter 20- We Were Condemned|We Were Foolish**

* * *

><p>"Coming!" quickly washing her hands before wiping them dry, Mikoto walked to the living room before opening the door.<p>

Mikoto felt all of her muscles freeze in shock as she stood there; staring at the man she thought to have been dead several years ago, the one who was killed right in front of her eyes.

"Long time no see, Mikoto."

"F-Fugaku," the word slipped out of her tongue as she didn't move with the ex-Uchiha clan leader smiling at her- opposed to the usual stoic expression he normally sported when alive.

"How have you been Mikoto?" Fugaku asked in his baritone voice, somewhat snapping her out of her reverie.

"F-Fine...but, how are you..." her voice trailed while her hands slowly covered her mouth.

"Wouldn't you even let me in, in my own house?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I-I'm sorry!" the raven haired female exclaimed as she took several steps back into the living room. Entering the house, he gave a look over at the spacious hall while closing the door behind him.

"It's still the same...it is good to be home," he added with a small smile while Mikoto's mind was running at its full capacity currently.

'_How...How can he be alive? I saw Itachi kill him right in front of me...'_

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback-Several Years Ago<strong>

* * *

><p>"I..."<p>

"We understand Itachi," Mikoto spoke in a resolute voice, currently sitting in a dark room in the traditional position along with Fugaku, Itachi standing behind them with his katana drawn out. He had a somewhat sad look in his eyes, although the expression on his face was cold as he gripped the katana tighter.

"Why are you hesitating now? Even though our way of thinking differs, I'm proud of you. Our pain will end in an instant, it's nothing compared to what you will face. Do not fear, this is the path you chose, is it not?" the Uchiha clan head uttered in a low, but firm tone. Mikoto gripped her knees tighter as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face.

"And take care of Sasuke for us."

She couldn't believe it, to be waiting for death, something which her eldest son was going to provide her in a matter of seconds. Tears were threatening to roll down her cheeks as she sat there anxiously. She could retaliate right now, but she understood her son's position. As a mother, she had to help him go through this, it was his choice, and she supported it. It was just the fact that she won't be able to see him anymore, see Sasuke grow anymore, that she won't be there for him from now on- it was heart wrenching.

"You truly are such a gentle child..."

SQUELCH!

A choked sob escaped Mikoto's lips as she didn't turn her head, her eyes clenched shut while Fugaku's blood splattered on her face. She didn't dare move her head, not even her eyes...she couldn't. Her hands were trembling now as she clenched them into fists tightly, taking a deep breath when the katana was pulled out from Fugaku- who fell on the cold wooden floor.

'_I...I'm sorry for leaving you like that Sasuke. Please...forgive me,'_ the raven haired Uchiha thought, pursing her lips tightly as tears began to flow down her sweaty cheeks.

"Gomen...Kaa-san," hearing Itachi's somewhat broken voice, a sob escaped her lips as she lowered her head, endless tears falling into her lap while her body begun to shake.

"D-Do it..." she stammered, still crying as Fugaku's blood soaked body laid beside her.

'_Sayonara...Sasuke...Itachi.'_

Just as the katana was about to pierce her...

"Hey!" Mikoto snapped her head upwards upon hearing a somewhat high-pitched voice- that of a child.

"H-How did you enter the compound?" she could feel Itachi's quick transition from an emotionally broken son to a cold shinobi in that question. Seeing something blonde from her blurry vision, she quickly wiped her eyes to see a blonde boy standing at the doorway, his form currently shadowed. He was somewhat shorter than Sasuke though.

"Uzumaki Naruto, go away, this doesn't concern you. If you value your life, get out of here," Mikoto's eyes widened in shock upon hearing just who was standing there.

It was Kushina's son- someone who she wanted to take custody of since forever, someone who was hated by most of the village- including Fugaku and the Uchiha clan. However, that hadn't refrained her from helping the boy in bits and other small things.

With her vision now cleared, she could see an angry look on his face- something which greatly shocked her. He was just a kid after all; you'd expect him to be trembling in fear currently. He shouldn't even be standing here- more like running in fear of his life.

"Shut up! I don't care that you killed the whole of Uchiha clan out there, they were jerks anyway. But don't you dare do anything to Mikoto-san!" he exclaimed loudly, again shocking the raven haired female while Itachi only gripped his katana tightly.

"I'm glad I came here, I knew I sensed something wrong with Mikoto-san."

'_He sensed something?'_ Mikoto thought in confusion.

"Go away, or else I won't hesitate to kill you," he warned, the tip of his sword dripping with blood as he took threatening steps forward.

"N-Naruto-kun! Get out of here!" Mikoto screamed, now standing up when she felt the tip of Itachi's blade on her neck.

"Don't move Kaa-san," he warned while Mikoto wondered as to why her son didn't kill her right then instead of warning her.

"Go away you fool, why do you care for her so much? This village hates you, go and cry yourself pathetically to sleep in a corner like you usually do," the harshness of Itachi's words actually stung Mikoto while Naruto narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth as a surge of raw anger charged his system.

"I am not pathetic...you are the pathetic one here, trying to kill your own mother you bastard! One day I'll show you, along with everyone else that I'm not pathetic! SO SHUT THE FUCK UP UCHIHA!" the boy yelled while Itachi's eyes widened when little sparks of electricity began visible around his body. Naruto itself seemed to be unaware of it while Mikoto too was baffled at the scene in front of her.

'_What is...this? How can he know nature manipulation?!'_ she thought in astonishment, now activating her Sharingan. What she saw made her blink in disbelief.

'_How is this possible? No chakra is being moulded...yet, he's producing lightning?'_

"Fine then...if you are so insistent," Itachi began to walk forward while young Naruto stood there without any trace of fear in his eyes.

"Itachi! Stop this! Not him, just kill me already and get out of here! You don't have to harm him!" Mikoto exclaimed loudly, her voice desperate as her eldest son stopped in his tracks. Itachi seemed to be contemplating something while Naruto fired back in rage, getting annoyed of Mikoto now.

"Are you crazy Mikoto-san?! Why do you want to die so badly?!" she never knew Naruto could be this brave, and angry. His voice held so much anger, as well as desperation. Mikoto felt guilty, here this brave and courageous boy was trying to save her while she just wanted to die, but she had her reasons.

'_I'm sorry Kushina...'_

Steeling her features, she verbalized in a cold tone.

"If you don't get out of here Naruto, I will hate you for the rest of my life. Get out...you understand nothing...d-demon," it hurt her deeply to say those words, she felt her heart was being stabbed when she saw the look of hurt in the blonde's eyes- but it was necessary.

"Or you can stand here and watch your 'Mikoto-san' die," Itachi claimed with a smirk, making Naruto look at him.

Soon the emotional pain was being replaced by something strong, a fierce emotion as he gazed at the Uchiha's somewhat mocking smirk, telling him that he was helpless- just like the rest of the villagers.

"_Demon!"_

"_Why don't you just go away?!"_

"_FUCK OFF MONSTER!"_

"_Yeah...run into a corner and cry like the weak shit you are...hahahahahah!"_

His eyes began to get glossy in frustration as the little blonde clenched his fists, lowering his head while his eyes were closed.

'_Why does everyone think so low of me...why can't they just stop underestimating me?!'_

"What a useless, pathetic little loser," he heard Itachi's mocking voice.

"Itachi!" Mikoto exclaimed angrily as she glared at her eldest son, gritting her teeth as the frustration started to get to her, she just wanted this to end.

"JUST KILL ME ALREADY!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, panting a little as Itachi stopped in front of her. He had a small smile on his face, as opposed to the cold expression he was wearing seconds ago while Mikoto had her eyes clenched shut, tears cascading down her cheeks.

"What a turnout..."

SQUICH!

Having jumped in front of Mikoto, Naruto took the hit as he skidded on the wooden floor sideways, tightly holding the katana's blade.

Snapping open her eyes, Mikoto's pupils dilated when she saw the little blonde standing on the floor beside her, Itachi's katana through his left shoulder while he was holding the blade tightly. Itachi was holding the hilt, an expressionless look on his face as he stared at Naruto, who was panting with ragged breaths.

"N-Naruto!" she exclaimed, fear gripping her heart when the whiskered blonde turned his head to glare at her, taking her aback.

"I'm not letting you get k-killed! Thank you or I hate you, I don't care!" Mikoto's lower lip began to tremble as she could spot transparent liquid streaming down his whiskered cheeks- due to the searing pain. He was crying, the poor boy was crying due to the pain, but yet...he was still so insistent on saving her.

"A-And you..." Naruto turned his head to face Itachi, not letting go of the katana. The jinchuriki's eyes were ferocious, as he glared at Itachi with lightning coursing around his body.

"Remember, if you threaten my precious people, even the Kami won't be able to save you! R-Remember my name, Uzumaki Naruto!" he panted, his one eye closed in exertion as a thin line of blood poured down his mouth while Mikoto just couldn't move, literally frozen to her spot.

Itachi however closed his eyes, still holding the katana.

"Big words for such a little man."

Naruto's vision began to blur as he coughed out some blood while Mikoto rushed to his side.

"Naruto-kun, take deep breaths slowly! Don't worry, I'm here," she spoke frantically, hugging the blonde's head to her chest tightly with tears flowing down her face. Itachi gazed at the duo when he tried to pull his katana.

Naruto however didn't let go of the katana, blood dripping down his hand while Mikoto glared at her son.

"Itachi stop it!" she yelled as he closed his eyes, his lips curling upwards into a small smirk. Naruto was now losing consciousness as his grip on the blade loosened.

Letting go of the hilt, the Uchiha prodigy started to walk back, much to Mikoto's surprise.

"Itachi?" she called, Naruto's body limp in her arms as her son turned his head to glance at her from the corner of his eyes.

"I have to say goodbye to Sasuke. Don't tell him about anything," his voice was cold and stoic, his body now vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

Mikoto stared at the door, a traumatic expression on her face as she turned her head slowly to stare at Naruto. Clutching his body closer to her, her face shadowed as tears began to fall on the floor, mixing with the blonde's blood.

'_Why...why...what am I going to do now?'_

Her body began to shake as she hugged the injured blonde tightly to her, her sobs getting louder as they turned into wails- painful cries echoing throughout the dimly lit household.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback Ends<strong>

* * *

><p>"Mikoto, where is Sasuke?" she was snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing Fugaku's voice, the Uchiha matriarch quickly wiping the moisture off her eyes.<p>

"O-Oh, Sasuke is currently at the academy. He should be back in a while," she answered as if in a daze.

Getting herself in control, Mikoto stared at Fugaku with a keen eye while he began to walk towards the couch. Activating her Sharingan, what she saw surprised her.

'_He's...there's no chakra. He does not have any chakra network! Just like those hollow hunters...just like, him. What is going on here?'_ she pondered, her heart rate fastening.

"Mikoto, I thought you were dead? How did you survive?" Fugaku questioned with a serious expression on his face. Mikoto bit her lip from immediately firing back the question as to how the hell he was alive and acting as if nothing had happened?!

"S-Someone saved me," she spoke with a small smile, remembering the blonde she was so fond of.

"Who?" the coldness in Fugaku's voice took her aback, he had a scowl on his face.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

'_Something is wrong here...'_

"So that kyuubi brat huh?" this made Mikoto frown as she sneakily took out a kunai, her chakra levels rising.

"Who are you?" she asked in a hostile tone making Fugaku frown deeply.

"What are you talking about? I'm your husband, don't you remember me? All these years I was actually hidi-"

"Shut up!" she exclaimed, now glaring coldly at him. How dare whoever this was play with her feelings like that?!

"You don't have any chakra circulatory system! It's obvious you are one of those hollows who have been attacking our village for the past month," she verbalized in a firm tone, gripping the kunai tighter while Fugaku had a surprised look in his eyes.

"Oh, so you know about hollows? Well that makes it easier, now you can join us in the afterlife," he uttered with a smirk making her eyes widen.

"A-Afterlife? Us?" she questioned in confusion as the Uchiha patriarch walked towards the front door. Grabbing the door knob, he opened it slowly- signalling her to come closer. Not dropping her guard, Mikoto slowly walked towards the door...what she saw made her blood run cold.

"Yes Mikoto...us," Fugaku said with a smirk, now pointing towards the members of the Uchiha clan standing outside the house.

'_W-What's going on here?'_

Everyone was present there, all the ones who were killed that night- from the eldest members to children. They were all staring at her with smiles on their faces.

"It's good to see you...Mikoto-sama," one of them worded warmly. Mikoto could feel moisture gathering at the corner of her eyes, not believing her eyes. Their faces, their smiling faces...all of them were alive, standing right in front of her. It seemed so surreal...she was speechless. Her mind itself had stopped working; she just couldn't cope with the shock.

"You see Mikoto, we found a far better place to live as compared to Konoha, the village which gave us nothing but shame," Fugaku uttered, resting a hand on her shoulder making her go stiff. She turned to look at him in confusion.

"A new place to live?" she asked making him nod.

"Yes, we can take you there if you join us. Sasuke will be coming with us too," he voiced making her look at him.

'_This place they are talking about...but they don't have any chakra. Still...they seem so real, just like when they were alive. Maybe all the hollows aren't bad...what harm it would do if I just see this place?'_ she thought, a smile coming on to her face as she gazed at the little children sitting on their fathers' shoulders with large grins on their faces- it brought back so many happy memories.

"Okay..." she nodded with a smile making Fugaku smirk.

"I will bring Sasuke. You go first with the clan," he spoke making her nod as she started to walk forward, the clan members making way for her.

"Hey get away from them!"

She along with others snapped their heads to see Anko and Kurenai standing on a roof.

Fugaku scowled as he stepped forward.

"Who do you thi-"

POOF!

His eyes widened when another Anko appeared beside Mikoto in a puff of smoke. Grabbing the Uchiha matriarch by her waist, the duo vanished in a shunshin to appear several roofs away, Kurenai standing with them.

Turning his head back to the roof on which another Anko and Kurenai were standing, he gritted his teeth when they both dispersed into smoke.

'_Shadow clones...'_

"What are you doing Anko-san?!" Mikoto asked with a frown making the purple haired kunoichi sigh.

"Look, you'll understand nothing. You are obviously happy to see them alive, and you may think they're alive but they are not. They are hollows, and are dangerous. So stay away from them," she warned with Kurenai standing in front of them.

"Anko..." Kurenai called uneasily as the trio began to feel a pressure on them, increasing by every second.

Mikoto walked forward, her eyes widening when she saw the Uchiha members glaring at Anko and Kurenai, and the fact that their skins were being peeled off; it was turning into something white.

'_They are growing bigger in size,'_ she thought in realization, they were transforming into hollows!

"**Kill these two!**" Mikoto snapped her head along with Anko and Kurenai to see Fugaku standing behind them. He was still in his human form, though his eyes were pitch black.

"Shit! Mikoto-san, you have to run!" Anko called as she grabbed Mikoto's wrist before using chakra to jump off the roof followed by Kurenai.

"**RAAWWWRRRR!**" all the Uchiha members, now transformed into hollows gave collective howls as they dashed towards Anko and Kurenai at blurry speeds.

"Uhgh...Anko, this pressure..." Kurenai stammered, actually faltering in her step as she hopped through the roofs along with Anko, who was pulling Mikoto with her.

Gazing over her shoulders, Anko gritted her as she pumped more chakra to the base of her feet- now going at full whizzing speed along with Kurenai- beads of sweat tricking down their foreheads.

'_Shit...their reiryoku is high. We have to hurry up! And why isn't Naruto, Ayame-chan and Rangiku-chan here yet?! They should've been able to sense this crazy spiritual pressure easily,'_ she thought before turning to Mikoto.

"Snap out of it dammit! I can't run while holding onto to you like this!" she yelled, effectively pulling out the Uchiha from her trance-like state. Nodding at the snake mistress, Mikoto pulled back her hand, now using her chakra to go at full speed, going faster than the duo.

"What do you mean they are not alive?!" She exclaimed over her shoulder, the painful howls of the Uchiha hollows making her wince.

"These hollows are souls of the Uchiha who have died already! Basically hollows are bad souls, driven by their negative emotions, their hatred! See those holes on their bodies?!" Anko replied making Mikoto glance over her shoulder, her Sharingan deactivated considering their doujutsu was useless against the spiritual beings.

"Yeah I see it! What are they?! Are those the places where they got stabbed or something?!"

"No! Argh dammit...actually...fuck..." Anko cursed as she rotated in midair through her jump. Going through several hand seals, she brought them near her mouth while taking in a deep breath.

"**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu! **(Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique)"

SZOOSH!

She blasted several small balls of fire from her mouth toward the approaching hollows. Quickly twisting herself back in another jump, she continued on her dash when one of the Uchiha hollow in the front of the large group opened his mouth to breathe out a blazing stream of white fire.

Kurenai's eyes widened as she witnessed the white flames completely engulf Anko's attack, instantly vaporising the hidden kunai in those orange-yellowish flame balls.

"Those holes represent that their hearts have been carved out, they feel nothing but hatred and anger! And the mask is the representation of their carved hearts!" Anko answered, wiping her forehead.

"Anko, Mikoto-san, beware of those hollows! They have the ability to launch fire attacks from their mouth. And the flames they are attacking with aren't normal either, they are almost white. I don't think that anyone except Nidaime-sama can put out those flames!" Kurenai warned making Mikoto and Anko glance over their shoulders- the trio now nearing the Uchiha Clan Estates' exit.

'_Of course, the powers they get is according to the spiritual manifestation of their hearts! Uchiha were famed fire element users, it's obvious they would get powers related to fire,'_ she thought, now seeing the gates as they pumped up more chakra at the base of their feet.

"Alright, first thing we'll have to do is gather other jounin and try to stop these guys until those hollow hunters arrive!" Anko exclaimed making Mikoto glance at her with a knowing look.

'_Seriously, these hollows are a pain in the ass! They just keep popping out every day!'_ the purple haired kunoichi thought in frustration, her trench coat flapping with the wind.

"There it is...I'm gonna call for some help, you two inform Hokage-sama at once!" Anko spoke, intent on pacing towards Ichiraku's apartment.

"Who told you that you were the leader here Anko-san? I know that you're going to call Naruto-kun along with Rangiku-san and Ayame-chan," Mikoto uttered with a frown making the Anko look at her in shock as they neared the exit gate.

Quickly composing herself out of the shock, she spoke.

"Fine then! Tag along if you want to! They are our only hope anyway," she muttered the last part under her breath.

'_How the hell does she know about them? Wasn't her memory wiped when Kakeisoushinki was used?!'_

"Anko, what's going on?" Kurenai asked sternly making the snake user sweat a bit as they reached the gate.

TRRRK!

"Gah!" Mikoto and Kurenai skidded to a stop when Anko got repulsed by an invisible wall along the exit gate.

"Anko!" the genjutsu mistress exclaimed upon seeing her trench coat catch white intensive fire.

'_Is it a fire barrier or something?'_ Mikoto considered as Anko quickly got rid of the coat. She stood a bit shakily, panting a bit as sweat poured down the side of her face.

"Anko, you okay?" Kurenai asked, helping her friend who was left with the fishnet covering her upper body now.

"Y-Yeah..." she answered, now watching as the fire completely burned out her trench coat.

"**Come with us Mikoto, forget these Konoha weaklings**," the trio turned to face a smirking Fugaku standing in front of them, his hand extended towards Mikoto with other Uchiha hollows slowly walking towards them like predators.

Mikoto had a conflicted look on her face as she took some startled steps back while Anko had a frown on her face as she held her slightly injured shoulder.

'_Where the hell are they?!'_

"No! I don't want to become like you! You are not the people I knew!" Mikoto yelled with a scowl, the trio now cornered against the barrier along the exit gate.

"**You are blind Mikoto. Can't you see that they are manipulating you?! Don't you know how the elders and the HOKAGE MANIPULATED OUR SON?! HE WAS FORCED TO KILL HIS OWN FAMILY, HIS OWN CLAN!" **Fugaku roared angrily, his reiatsu sky rocketing, forcing the three kunoichi to their knees.

"Listen, to fight them effectively, don't hold back any of your chakra. Build it up to the maximum. I know it's dangerous and can lead to chakra exhaustion, but that's the only way to fight these creatures," Anko uttered, now using all of her stamina to build up massive amounts of chakra, Kurenai doing the same.

Mikoto however had her head lowered, conflict in her eyes as she remembered Itachi's face that night.

"I-It was Itachi's choice. He wasn't forced into anything. Hokage-sama told me all about it. It's we who were at fault, it's our pride that made us fall! We shouldn't have planned a coup against hokage-sama at all! This is our village, our home, we never should have thought of retaliating just because of power and position!" Mikoto yelled, for the first time arguing with her husband in her life.

Fugaku lowered his head as a chuckle escaped his lips, the Uchiha hollows standing behind him, growling menacingly.

"**She isn't one of us now**," one of them uttered.

"**Hiruzen has tainted her too! Just like Itachi!**"

"**We should just force her!**"

Fugaku raised his hand, silencing his fellow members behind him as he glared at a defiant Mikoto.

"**Fine then, if you're so insistent on stomping on our ancestors' pride, their dreams, then we have no choice but to purify you**! **One way or another, I will make you see the truth! DEVOUR HER!**"

"**HRAAAAAAAWWWRRRR!" **giving off collective war cries, dozens of Uchiha hollows dashed towards the trio, passing Fugaku as they opened their mouths.

ZWISH!

"**Bakudo no Sanjukyu: Enkosen! **(Way of Binding 39: Round Lock Fan)"

BHARRZZZ!

The blazing streams of white fire collided against a large dull barrier- spinning like a disk. Anko, who had her eyes closed along with Mikoto and Kurenai due to the light intensity, squinted her eyes to see a shinigami standing in front of them, wearing a hood.

The white flames slowly lifted off, leaving some smoke in its place as the dull yellow energy barrier disintegrated into spirit particles. The purple haired kunoichi sighed in relief upon realizing who was standing in front of her.

'_Finally Rangiku-chan is here! Damn she took her sweet time getting here huh?! But...I've never seen her execute the Enkosen on such a large scale,'_ Anko thought in awe of the power Rangiku had just displayed.

'_Is this Naruto-kun...no, it doesn't feel like Naruto-kun at all,'_ Mikoto thought, coughing due to the smoke while Kurenai too was gazing at Rangiku's back with relief.

"Hey, you three okay?!" Anko snapped her head to her right to see another hooded shinigami, but something was wrong, her voice sounded feminine.

'_Wait a minute! If this is Rangiku-chan...then, oh!'_ she felt like hitting her head, of course it was Naruto standing in front of her, she should've recognized the male tone when he executed the Round Lock Fan technique.

"What took you guys so long?!" Anko exclaimed with narrowed eyes making the now arrived Rangiku sigh under the hood. Mikoto and Kurenai however were looking at her in suspicion.

"Sorry, it took some time for me to get through this barrier. Naruto-kun should be here soon too," she replied making Anko's eyes widen in surprise.

'_Wait...then that means...'_

She turned her head back towards the male shinigami standing in front of them.

"Hey, who are you?" she asked.

"Anko, he's the other hollow hunter," Kurenai pointed out with a sigh while Mikoto had her eyes narrowed.

'_So this is Rangiku-chan, I can't feel her like I can with Naruto-kun...but still, there is this pressure I can feel coming off of her. But who is this guy?'_ the Uchiha matriarch pondered as Rangiku stood up, the hood still over her head. Kurenai however, was actually shocked that she could see these hollow hunters, but kept her mouth shut for the time being- they had other problems to take care of after all.

"Can't you just sense our reiatsu signature to tell who we are? You did say that you began to recognize us some time ago right?" Matsumoto spoke in a low tone as the smoke now dissipated completely while Anko sweat dropped.

'_Uh...why didn't I think of that? But wait...I can't sense any of them!'_ she realized now. A week ago, she had automatically began to sense Naruto's reiatsu signature, she never needed to _do _anything to sense him.

"Um...I can't sense anything right now. I don't know...maybe it's because that my chakra output is at its highest," Anko spoke quietly after standing up.

"Are you three okay?" all of them turned their heads towards the male shinigami standing in front of them as he unsheathed his zanpakutou.

"Hai."

"He's the guardian shinigami who just arrived that night, don't you remember?" Rangiku whispered to Anko making her open her mouth in an 'o' in realization.

"Oh right, so he's the secondary in-command shinigami of Konoha right?" she asked making the blonde standing beside her nod.

"**A shinigami huh? Don't you look particularly delicious**," Fugaku uttered, now coming up in front, a smirk on his face. The guardian shinigami however stayed quiet, his hood flapping with the light breeze as he stood protectively in front of the four women.

"So you're the members of the Uchiha clan whose souls mysteriously disappeared several years ago. I presume you were residing in Hueco Mundo all this time?" he finally spoke as a look of suprise crossed Fugaku's face.

"**Ooh? So we Uchiha are famous even amongst the shinigami huh?**" Fugaku grinned, the hollows standing behind him.

"More like you guys are in our wanted list," he spoke, pointing his zanpakutou at them while Mikoto stepped forward.

"Rangiku-san, do we have to kill all of them?" Mikoto asked with concern in her voice, a conflicted look on her face while Rangiku stiffened at that.

'_How did she know?'_ she turned to glance at Anko who just shrugged at her unspoken question.

"Dunno, she says she remembers everything that happened that night...I guess Kakeisoushinki failed to work on her or something," she muttered while Kurenai too was thrown for the loop.

'_Wait a minute...so, Rangiku-chan is the second hollow hunter?'_ Kurenai thought in shock when she suddenly clutched her head, now gritting her teeth in pain.

"W-Wha..." she stuttered, suddenly experiencing a headache while Anko, Mikoto and Rangiku were staring forward.

"No need for this any longer then..." Matsumoto murmured as she flipped off her hood, revealing her face when the guardian shinigami glanced back at them.

"Rangiku-san, don't try to destroy that barrier. We can't risk these Uchiha posing risk to the whole village, we have to fight here..."

"**Oh don't worry about that shinigami, we will fight here, we will. After devouring your souls, the village is next**," Fugaku verbalized as he lifted his right arm sideways, now horizontal to the ground as a katana materialized in his right hand.

"Tha...That's impossible!" Rangiku exclaimed with wide eyes while the guardian shinigami too took a startled step back.

"**Surprised?**" Fugaku mocked before he vanished in a blur to appear behind the guardian.

CLANG!

"**My, a strong one, aren't you?**" the Uchiha patriarch grinned, his blade currently clashing with the shinigami's- who was holding his zanpakutou with a single hand, still facing forward.

'_What was that? That wasn't shunpo!'_ Matsumoto thought with wide eyes while Anko too looked surprised.

'_I've never seen a hollow with a zanpakutou.'_

"Rangiku-san, you didn't answer my question. Do we have to kill them to save the village? Isn't there any other way?" Mikoto asked with a grim expression on her face. Matsumoto narrowed her eyes as she unsheathed Haineko, her reiatsu already at its maximum.

"No, we are not killing them. They are already dead. What we shinigami do is purify their souls, filter out the hatred and darkness that made them hollows in the first place. It may look we are killing them, but they are actually being purified...in common language, their souls are being put to rest in peace. That's our duty as shinigami," she spoke while both Mikoto and Kurenai were surprised to hear this. So these hollow hunters were in reality shinigami? Then that meant...

'_Naruto-kun is a shinigami? The God of Death?!'_ Mikoto couldn't believe it. The boy who everybody thought to be failure was a shinigami, the one responsible for guiding the dead ones to afterlife. He was a shinobi as well as a shinigami, along with a jinchuriki...such huge burden on such a young boy.

Her eyes narrowed in determination as she clenched her fists.

"However, if you kill those hollows, then in actuality they are being erased from existence. So attack anywhere except their masks, I'll do the rest. Only a shinigami's soul slayer can purify them," Matsumoto warned making them nod.

"**Here, try this...Cero!**" Fugaku exclaimed with a smirk as he pointed his left palm at the guardian's back. Anko watched in surprise as a glowing ball of blazing white flames formed in his palm.

WHRASH!

A large destructive wave shot forth his hand, completely covering the shinigami.

"Dammit! C'mon, we have to help him!"

Whoosh!

Before Rangiku herself could jump in, a black blur rushed past her, revealing out to be Mikoto as the elite jounin bolted towards her clan members at blundering speeds.

'_I'm sorry you guys were being hurt all this time...I'll put your souls to rest,'_ the Uchiha matriarch thought, tears falling off the corner of her eyes she took out several shuriken- now approaching a grinning Fugaku.

"**Devour all these souls!**" he ordered as the hollows darted forward with demonic howls.

"I won't let you harm this village anymore!" Mikoto shouted as she threw the shuriken at Fugaku who again vanished to dodge them.

'_Where'd he...?_

CLING!

"Don't think you can take me out with such simple attacks," Mikoto turned around to see the guardian shinigami blocking Fugaku's attack- meant for her.

"You go on...I'll handle him," the guardian spoke, sparks flowing out of the clashed blades while Mikoto nodded. Shunshining forward, she went through a couple of hand signs while darting forward.

"**Doton: Arigoku! **(Earth Release: Inescapable Hell)" she exclaimed, her feet skidding on the ground as she slammed her palms on the ground. Going with her momentum, she flipped forwards, continuing on with her dash.

A large part of the ground beneath several hollows started to shake, being converted into wet mud- resulting into a sticky pit as it began to pull in the hollows.

Going through several hand seals, Mikoto took in large amounts of air.

"**Katon: Gouryuuka no Jutsu **(Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique)" she unleashed a large amount of fire from her mouth as it whizzed towards other approaching hollows, taking the shape of a dragon's head in the process.

"**WHRAAAR!**"

The Uchiha hollows fired white fire off their mouths, completely engulfing her attack when Mikoto jumped upwards using chakra. Throwing several more shuriken at whooping speeds, she again went through a few set of hand seals.

"**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu! **(Shadow Shuriken Technique)" the few shuriken soon turned out in dozens as they hit several hollows at different parts of their bodies, making them howl in pain.

"**Unare: Haineko! **(Growl: Ash Cat)" Matsumoto exclaimed while in midair, her zanpakutou taking on the form of its shikai as she descended towards the hollows.

One of them spotted her as he fired a stream of fire from its mouth. Dodging it using Shunpo, she continued to descend towards them. Waving her hand holding the hilt, the ash particles flew towards the hollows.

CRSHHHH!

"**RAAAWWRRR!**" it hit an Uchiha hollow on its mask dead on, shattering it as the hollow disintegrated into reishi. The other hollows were busy squaring off against Anko and Kurenai, both of whom were mainly using other ninja tricks considering Anko's fire techniques and Kurenai's genjutsu was useless against them.

**CWANG!**

"**Ugh...**" Fugaku grunted as a wave of reiryoku blasted outwards due to the ferocious clash. The guardian shinigami was still using one hand to hold his zanpakutou as he lifted his other to point at the Uchiha patriarch's chest.

"**Byakurai **(Pale Lightning)," he worded calmly making Fugaku's eyes widen.

**CRAZZZSH!**

A thick beam of white lightningshort forth his palm, slamming a hole into Fugaku's mid section as it continued on to destroy a building.

Fugaku had his eyes widened as he coughed some blood.

"**I...s-see...I guess I'll need to go further...t-to fight you**," he spoke unsteadily, blood pouring down his lips a malicious grin spread onto his lips.

The guardian's eyes widened when the ex-Uchiha clan's leader again vanished to appear on a roof several meters away.

'_So he has the ability of regeneration,'_ he thought as the hole on Fugaku's body began to fill out instantly.

'_These hollows attacking the village just keep getting stronger everyday! They just keep regenerating themselves, whatever damage Mikoto-san, Anko-chan and Kurenai-chan are doing,'_ Rangiku thought, currently attacking while standing in mid air, moving the ash of Haineko in her shikai by gesturing with her hands.

'_My attacks are just not fast enough to catch them off guard. I repeatedly have to steer the ash away from their fire attacks, I know Haineko won't be able to stand them,'_ the blonde pondered.

"**Hado no Gojuhachi**...(Way of Destruction 58)" levitating the hilt, she nudged it using the back of her right hand as it began to rotate at blurry speeds...

Tak!

...grabbing the hilt, she yelled.

"**TENRAN! **(Orchid Sky)" instantly a swirling tornado fired off the hilt at mind boggling speeds as she closed her eyes due to the power of the attack.

The rotating tornado approached the hollows who opened their mouths to blast their fire attacks making her smirk.

'_Wrong move.'_

SZWIST!

**WHAM!**

Being empowered by the fire, the flamed tornado slammed into them, soon creating a whirlwind while howls of those Uchiha hollows echoed throughout the estates.

'_Using the wind against their own attacks... I wish one of us was a wind user,'_ Kurenai thought, covering her eyes after she had shunshined back along with Anko to dodge the large scale attack. Mikoto too was standing on a roof above, a solemn look on her face.

Rangiku's shoulders slumped as she began to pant a bit, Haineko's ash revolving around her.

'_Naruto...what's taking you so long? You should've been here by now,'_ Matsumoto mused in confusion. When she was waiting for Naruto to come out of Ayame's bedroom while being lost in her own thoughts, she had suddenly felt a large amount of hollow reiatsu.

'_Where are you dammit?'_

* * *

><p><strong>Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment:<strong>

* * *

><p>Opening his eyes groggily, Naruto sat up as a yawn escaped his lips.<p>

'_Huh? I can't believe I fell asleep...'_ he thought, his hand holding Ayame's left hand, the ramen waitress currently sleeping soundly. A sad look crossed his eyes as he remembered the talk with Ayame he had several minutes ago.

'_Ayame-chan...I don't know what's wrong with you, but I'll find out. Mark my words, you can ignore me however much you want, but I won't stop until you tell me what's wrong,'_ he thought with a frown. Standing up, the blonde stretched his arms before he bent down to kiss her on the forehead, a small smile on his face.

"Man am I hungry...let's see if oji-san can prepare some ramen for me," he muttered, grabbing the door knob as the whiskered blonde exited Ayame's room to find Teuchi sitting behind the coffee table, a serious expression on his face.

"Oh hey oji-san, whe-" Naruto stopped abruptly, his eyes slowly widening.

"Now you sense it? I think you should hurry. Rangiku-san is already fighting there," the old chef spoke making the blonde look at him.

"B-But...such foul reiatsu, why couldn't I sense it earlier?!" he exclaimed with narrowed eyes making Teuchi sigh.

"As you probably noticed, you couldn't sense Ayame's real reiatsu when outside the room. I created a barrier around the room earlier. So being inside the room too, you can't sense what's going on outside, except me that is. Now do you think you have the time to waste on unnecessary questions?" he questioned with a grim look on his face.

"Why aren't you helping Rangiku-chan fight them?!" Naruto was getting angry now as he glared at his father-like figure. He had never sensed such foul reiatsu since he had become a shinigami, these hollows were no joke.

Teuchi sighed as he grabbed his head, a torn look on his face.

"I can't. Just hurry up and help them," he uttered making Naruto grit his teeth.

"Oji-san, I'm tired of you not letting me know of the complete details! What's going on? Yo-"

"JUST GO NARUTO!" the old shinigami yelled, blasting off a strong wave of reiatsu as he stood abruptly, the chair falling on the floor.

The blonde narrowed his eyes as he stayed quiet, Teuchi now glaring back at him, daring him to ask another question.

...

"Fine then...just take care of Ayame-chan..." he spoke in a low tone before blurring out using shunpo.

Teuchi sighed as he put his hands down on the table with a jerk, a grave look on his face.

'_That's what I'm trying to do here...I know they're here to get her again.'_

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's it for the twentieth chapter. Hope you enjoyed this.<strong>

**Several things to wonder about I guess- Why Teuchi couldn't perform soul burial on the Uchiha clan? How did Mikoto remember everything despite Kakeisoushinki being used? How did the talk between Naruto and Ayame go? What's Teuchi being so emo about? (lol)**

**Anyway, please REVIEW to let me know how you liked this chapter. I want this fic to reach 1K reviews as fast as possible; I've waited long enough dammit! And I've done my hard work too! XD**

**N6023**


	21. A Zanpakutou's Resolve!

**Chapter 21- A Zanpakutou's Resolve!**

* * *

><p>"Fine then...just take care of Ayame-chan..." he spoke in a low tone before blurring out using shunpo.<p>

Teuchi sighed as he put his hands down on the table with a jerk, a grave look on his face.

'_That's what I'm trying to do here...I know they're here to get her again.'_

* * *

><p><strong>Uchiha Clan's Estate: With Others<strong>

* * *

><p>CLANG!<p>

'_Damn they're strong,'_ Anko thought with gritted teeth, currently holding a kunai as it grinded against the hollow's claw.

"**You won't get away!**" the Uchiha hollow exclaimed, swiping its other large claw forwards as Anko flipped backwards to dodge it.

Landing on the ground, she didn't have time to compose herself as a few more hollows now began to surround her. They opened their mouths collectively as condensed balls of fire began to form in front of their mouths.

'_Shit!'_ the purple haired jounin cursed inwardly as she jumped just in time.

WHRAASH!

The fireballs collided into each other, creating an explosion while the she landed a few meters away from them.

"Anko, any plans for taking them out? We're easily outnumbered here, and these things are strong," Kurenai uttered in a hushed tone as she landed beside Anko to stand back to back with her. Around dozen of hollows were now closing in on them while Mikoto herself was fighting five hollows on the rooftops.

"None...just keep hitting them, that's all we can do. Naruto should be arriving here soon too," Anko replied, a few shuriken in her hands.

"Well at least you're doing some damage...what...should I do? My genjutsu just doesn't work on them! It's like they are resistant to all sorts of illusions!" Kurenai exclaimed, pausing in between to throw several shuriken towards the slowly approaching hollow.

Anko threw her arm forward as she yelled.

"**Sen'ei Tajashu! **(Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)"

A large number of intimidating snakes shot forth from around her forearm as they whizzed towards the hollows at break neck speeds, hissing dangerously at the creatures in front of them.

"**It's useless!" **

"**CERO! **(Hollow Flash)"

Anko's eyes widened as their fire attacks blazed forward through their mouths, completely incinerating the snakes while it continued towards the duo.

'_A cero...a cero made of fire?'_

"Duck!"

Kurenai yelled as she leaped sideways, taking Anko with her.

WHOOSH!

The crimson eyed jounin gritted her teeth in pain as the dense fire slightly grazed against her back, tearing off her white bandage-like dress a little from the back- exposing slightly burned skin.

"You okay?!" Anko asked as Kurenai, who was lying on top of her stood up a bit unsteadily.

"Y-Yeah..." Kurenai coughed a bit as the smoke slowly cleared.

'_Dammit Naruto...what the hell's taking you so long?!'_ Anko thought in frustration as she leaped to her feet.

Mikoto was currently crouched on a roof, panting a bit with a few hollows surrounding her.

"**Why do you resist Mikoto-sama? Join us...leave this village! They did nothing but betray us!**" one of them exclaimed, slowly walking towards her as she stood up with a frown on her face.

"I don't care. What has happened with our ancestors is in the past. If we continue to fight, if we continue to protest, nothing will be achieved. If anything, many lives will be lost, there will be no peace. If very few, there are people who are very precious to me here," Mikoto uttered loudly while panting as she remembered Naruto and Sasuke.

"This is my home. This is their home. And one of them...one of them is going to be the hokage of this village! And I will help him achieve his dreams!" the Uchiha matriarch stated firmly, the young blonde's visage right in front of her, giving her strength, the will to move on.

"**That's just nonsense! You don't care for your own people do you?! You don't care that one of us was forced to kill his clan! We were manipulated!**"

"Yes we were manipulated. And we forced this village to manipulate us! It's because of our own foolish actions that we were manipulated! If we hadn't planned that coup in the first place, all of us would've been alive. We would be living in peace, n-no one would have to die then. I-Itachi wouldn't have to leave us," Mikoto's voice quivered in the end as she quickly wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry, you are being controlled by your hatred and the desire for revenge. Let me free your souls," she closed her eyes, a lone tear sliding down her cheek for the members of her clan...they were one big family for her.

'_And I would save them!'_

Snapping open her eyes, her completely matured Sharingan blazed with rapidly spinning tomoes as she dashed forwards at blurry speeds.

"**Here, witness my true power, shinigami!**" Fugaku exclaimed with a broad grin, his reiatsu levels rising at tremendous rates as he stood on the roof of a worn out building.

The guardian shinigami gazed at the hollow in front of them as his human appearance began to morph into a more hollow-ish one.

"**Watch it carefully, because you won't be seeing this again!**" he exclaimed, his voice getting more demonic as a white mask began to form over his face. A white substance began to now cover his body, forming a tail behind him. Two triangle shaped arm guards covered his forearms. His feet too turned out to be pointy due to the white substance, as the tail swished behind him lazily.

The mask seemed to have a few cracks on it, cuts along his eyes with strands of his hair falling over it.

"I see...so you're a very high ranking hollow. Not a surprise considering the amount of time you spent in Hueco Mundo. However, I'm surprised that you did not devoured your fellow clan members to become stronger, or is it that being a Vasto Lorde class menos is enough for you?" the guardian shinigami articulated calmly as Fugaku stretched the muscles of his neck, his eyes sporting a certain animalistic look in them.

"**Don't compare me with normal low class hollows. Unlike the usual trash, I have risen above my primal instincts. I know who to devour, who to kill**," he spoke in his demonic voice, the concrete below cracking under the intense spiritual pressure while the guardian shinigami too seemed to be struggling.

'_I still have the limiter seal on. Have to request for permission,'_ he thought before pointing his index finger at Fugaku.

"Where is your hole? I don't see it..." he questioned as a chuckle escaped the Uchiha Vasto Lorde, who began to lift his right hand slowly.

"Well since you asked so nicely..." Fugaku trailed as he opened his right palm, displaying it to the shinigami standing below. The shape of the hole however startled him- it was the same as the standard tomoe of the Sharingan.

"**Here, here's the other one...**" Fugaku uttered in an amused tone as his showed off his left palm, it too sporting the tomoe-shaped hole.

'_Two holes?'_

SWISH!

Fighting the hollows above in mid air, Rangiku continued to attack through her ash particles. She too was panting quite heavily now, having already taken down several hollows.

"**You're no match for us!**"

WHAM!

Matsumoto skidded back on reiatsu platform in midair, having stopped the hollow's claws by materializing Haineko into its blade.

'_We are easily outnumbered. Taking in account their strength, Naruto too won't be enough. We need Ayame-chan too...she should be on her way with him too,'_ the blonde thought while panting as she stood up, now glancing down towards Fugaku, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her forehead.

'_I_ _have never encountered a Vasto Lorde, and his reiatsu...it's even higher than taicho. It's so...dense...such foul feeling,'_ she wondered, holding Haineko in front of her defensively.

"**What's the matter? Now do you feel our power, Fugaku-sama's power? You should know by now that resistance is futile!**" a hollow exclaimed as the group of them approached her at blazing speeds, charging up their fire Cero in their mouths.

Rangiku narrowed her eyes as the blade again turned into ash particles.

'_I'm low on reiryoku now, this is probably going to be my last attack. Better take these out in one shot...'_ she mused before waving her hand- the one holding the hilt as the ash particles whizzed towards the approaching hollows.

Slashing her hand across in a blur...

"**Neko Rinbu! **(Cat Round Dance)" she exclaimed, the speed of ash particles increasing by several times as they quickly covered the distance. The particles began to condense around the group of hollows, rotating at high speeds as they quickly morphed into a deadly twister.

"**W-Wha...AHHHH!**"

Rangiku stared at the twister with cold eyes as painful howls of those hollows came out, large amount of blood spraying out as it descended with gravity while the small ash particles continued to flesh out the hollows rapidly.

Mikoto, Anko and Kurenai glanced upwards upon hearing the screams, their eyes getting widened as they noticed the blood drops falling down like rain.

'_Such brutality...'_ Kurenai thought, the blood drops falling on them while Mikoto hardened herself, knowing that those Uchiha souls were being purified.

The twister slowly died down as the ash particles began to separate, coming back to form the katana while Rangiku was currently crouched, panting heavily as she wiped her forehead.

"Anko! Focus here," Kurenai warned, pulling the purple haired kunoichi back to their fight as they again dodged a slash from a hollow, both getting separated as they skidded on the ground.

"**Now, let's continue shinigami!**" Fugaku yelled as he suddenly vanished.

'_Again with that strange technique.'_

Sensing something beneath him, the guardian shinigami brought down his katana just in time.

**CLANG!**

"Grhgh!"

He was sent flying upwards due to the force of the blow while a crouched Fugaku stood up.

"**Weak...is that all there is to the famed guardian shinigami of the Spirit King?!**" he mocked as the shinigami used reishi beneath his feet to control himself, stopping ways above Fugaku.

'_He's fast!'_

"**You were able to see me, that in itself is an accomplishment shinigami!**" Fugaku yelled from the ground, pointing his katana at the guardian shinigami.

"**Here I come again!**" he vanished from the shinigami's sight as the guardian stretched out his hand.

"**Bakudo no Sanjurei...**" a burst of crackling yellow energy formed in his hand as he moved it at blurred speeds to form an inverted triangle, cones of condensed energy building at its corners in front of him.

"**Shitotsu Sansen! **(Break-Piercing Triple Beam)" he fired the energy cones off the corners of the inverted triangle; the cones nearing an approaching Fugaku at mind-boggling speeds.

"**Ugh!**" they slammed into the Uchiha hollow, piercing his flesh at his shoulders and the stomach. Fugaku went sailing down due to the momentum of the cones blurrily.

WHRASH!

He violently crashed into the ground, forming a deep crater with the cones having him pinned to the concrete.

The guardian shinigami appeared beside the crater via several flash steps.

"**Heh...you think a low level kido like this can hold me off?**" Fugaku asked, his crazed eyes boring into the shadowed face through the hood of the guardian shinigami.

The shinigami remained quiet as he stood there.

"**Hmm...so it appears you're trying to buy some time**," Fugaku uttered, startling the shinigami as the Uchiha's reiatsu began to sky-rocket.

"**Whatever you're waiting for, you'll be DEAD BEFORE IT!** **HAAAAAAAARRRRHHHHHHHHHHHH...!"** the Uchiha's demonic cry echoed throughout the estate as his reiatsu reached to blundering levels while the yellow energy cones began to waver.

'_What power!'_ Rangiku thought, shielding her eyes as a pillar of light red reiryoku shot forth Fugaku into the sky. The guardian shinigami stepped back, shielding his face by his elbow as the crater began to deepen due to the crazy spiritual pressure in the area.

CRWSH!

The energy cone restraints broke under the pressure as Fugaku downed his reiatsu levels, now slowly standing while blood spilled down the hole through his shoulders and stomach.

"**Interesting...very interesting!**" he exclaimed as the holes began to close up due to his instant regeneration.

'_This one is no joke, he is stronger than a normal Vaste Lorde...'_

The guardian shinigami thought when Fugaku stepped forward, now standing deep in the crater.

"**Now's my turn...**" the Uchiha claimed with a grin behind his mask as he again vanished in the blink of an eye.

'_Wait, where is he?!'_ the guardian shinigami thought in a bit of panic when Fugaku appeared just above him.

CLUK!

THUK!

'_What the...?'_

"**So, a new arrival huh?**" Fugaku questioned, currently holding the guardian's zanpakutou in his bare left hand, a tip of another blade trying to pierce his back.

'_Naruto!'_ Mikoto and Rangiku thought simultaneously as they stared at the wide eyed blonde standing above Fugaku.

'_Impossible! It didn't even scratched him?!'_ the jinchuriki thought in shock, currently pushing his zanpakutou with all his strength.

"**And a pretty weak to boot**," Fugaku shifted his eyes to gaze at the blonde figure behind him.

SWISH!

Having used shunpo, both Naruto and the guardian shinigami appeared several meters away from Fugaku, who landed on the ground, flexing his hand as blood dripped down the tip of his fingers.

"Uzumaki...Naruto...right?"the guardian shinigami questioned making the blonde beside him glance at him.

"Yeah..." he replied.

'_His zanpakutou was able to cut him...why couldn't mine? It felt like as I was hitting a diamond or something. The same happened with Urahara-san, he too was able to grab my zanpakutou bare handed. Am I...not strong enough yet?'_ the whiskered blonde thought as he clenched his fists.

"**Hey you, blondie!**" Naruto's cold eyes met Fugaku's as they stared at each other.

"**Take a look at your zanpakutou**," a brief look of confusion crossed Naruto's eyes as he glanced down.

His eyes widened in surprise as the blade of his zanpakutou began to crack up right in front of his eyes.

CRSHH!

'_What the hell?!'_ he thought in shock as a large part of his blade fell to the ground.

'_He's still not strong enough,'_ Rangiku thought with a sigh. Just as she was about to use shunpo to aid him, several more hollows came from below making her curse. Glancing towards Anko, she was not surprised to find the duo doing not so well, they both seemed to be exhausted while Mikoto was still holding her own, though she was beginning to show signs of exhaustion.

"**Your zanpakutou can't even cut me...what a weakling!**" Fugaku taunted making the jinchuriki glare at him.

'_Why can't I cut him? How is it even possible?!'_ Naruto thought as he gripped his zanpakutou tighter.

"You still need to learn a lot. It seems you haven't synchronized with your zanpakutou. Either way, don't get in my way or else you'll die," the guardian shinigami warned as he stepped forward making the blonde lower his head. He glanced at the guardian's zanpakutou...

'_Why? Why can he cut him but I can't? I currently have more reiryoku than him but still...?'_

"**My...that's quite the amount of reiatsu you've got blondie. Pity you can't control all that power**," the Uchiha's ex-leader mocked as he swung his own katana.

"Stay out of my way..." the guardian shinigami again spoke before blurring forward via shunpo making the blonde grit his teeth.

'_The arrogant...who does he think he is?!'_ the blonde stood as he watched Fugaku easily stop the guardian's strike via one hand.

'_Heh...he himself is getting his butt kicked,'_ holding on to his zanpakutou, Naruto too blurred forward using shunpo.

"**Huuuuh? Is that all you've got?**" Fugaku stated in a bored tone, currently clashing effortlessly with the guardian who seemed to using all his strength.

CWISH!

"**Hado no Ichijuichi: Tsuzuri Raiden! **(Way of Destruction 11: Bound Lightning)" Naruto exclaimed after appearing on top of Fugaku, his broken zanpakutou pointed at the Uchiha.

KRRRRKKKKT!

Electric current flowed through Naruto's zanpakutou as it further blazed towards Fugaku in the form of a purple beam, lightning sparks crackling around it. Fugaku's eyes widened at the speed of the attack as...

CRSHHH!

The beam slammed into the crater while Naruto narrowed his eyes upon seeing the Uchiha no longer present there.

SLOSH!

"ARGH!" the blonde screamed in pain as blood splattered around him.

THUD!

Dropping into the crater, Naruto gritted his teeth as he opened his half lidded eyes.

'_I...didn't even see him...'_

Lifting his head, he noticed Fugaku standing in midair with a serious look in his eyes.

'_To think he was able to catch me off guard with just kido...what was that speed?'_ the Uchiha thought with narrowed eyes, blood dripping down the tip of his zanpakutou before he again vanished in a blur.

"**You're an annoyance now**," the guardian shinigami, who was standing by the crater, froze upon hearing Fugaku's chilly voice inches behind him.

SQUELCH!

"ANKO!" Kurenai yelled as she kicked a hollow on its mask, making the creature stumble back while the red eyed jounin, flipped over several hollows to land beside a downed Anko.

"Oi! You alright?!" she asked as the purple haired kunoichi stood up with her help.

"Ugh...th-these are s-strong dammit. We can't defeat t-them...we're o-outnumbered," Anko muttered as she coughed a bit, her left shoulder bleeding profusely.

Kurenai gritted her teeth in anger as the hollows approached them, howling at him.

"**Die now! Feel the wrath of our clan!**"

Opening its mouth, a hollow charged up a quick Cero in its making Kurenai's eyes widen.

'_No...this can't be it...'_ she thought in panic.

"**KILL THEM!"**

WHOORSH!

Her pupils trembled in fear as the large, intense streams of fire approached them.

"Anko-chan! KURENAI-SAN!"

Kurenai felt herself being pushed sideways as she stared at Anko's smiling face while in midair, time slowing down for her while the fire stream approached the purple haired kunoichi.

'_What are you doing?! No!'_

"ANKO!"

The genjutsu mistress screamed in despair as she fell on the ground when the fire attack completely engulfed the snake mistress's form.

She covered her face due to the large amount of dust and heat as the fire stream slowly diminished while large amounts of smoke now covered the area.

Kurenai coughed as she sat unsteadily. Opening her eyes slowly, they widened as she saw nothing but smoke. Moisture began to gather in them when she stood up quickly, her knees wobbly.

'_Anko..no...'_

"Anko! Anko! Are you alright?!" hearing nothing but the laughter of those hollows made Kurenai's blood boil as she turned her head quickly, trying to find her best friend.

"**Hahahahahaa!**"

"**Now you feel our pain?! You feel our hatred now don't you?!**"

"**One weakling is gone, only one left!"**

"Why...you..." gritting her teeth, Kurenai charged out of the smoke as she skidded to a stop in front of the group of hollows, all who seemed to be grinning behind their masks.

"**Here comes the last piece of trash**."

"How dare you..." Kurenai had never felt so much anger in her life. After her parents being killed, Anko was the only one left for her. She was her best friend, her sister...they had gone through the difficulties of their lives together. And for these monsters to kill her like that, and laugh it over?!

No, this was not the death of a kunoichi, these creatures were treating her sister-like figure, one who had sacrificed her life to save her- as if she was nothing, as if her life didn't matter at all!

"**Ooh, the woman is angry now! What sho-**" all hollows were surprised when they felt a sudden increase in Kurenai's reiatsu.

'_Anko-chan...'_ Rangiku thought with moisture in her eyes as she continued to fight with the remaining few hollows on her plate. One thing that confused her, as she glanced at Kurenai's form...

'_What is...she is emitting pure reiatsu, no chakra is being built! She is manipulating her spiritual energy only!'_ the blonde thought in shock, though not sure whether Kurenai was harnessing her reiryoku deliberately or not.

Kurenai glared at the hollows with cold fury in her crimson orbs as slowly reddish-black reiryoku began to become visible around her, covering her body.

"You're going to regret this! I will never forgive you for this!" she growled, her reiatsu still increasing when a katana began to materialize above her in midair.

"**What the...?**"

"**How is she...is that a zanpakutou?**"

The katana now fully materialized above the jounin's head, she loosely swung her hand in the direction of the hollows.

"**Wait, it must be one of her genjutsu! Just increase your reiatsu!**" one of them stated as they increased their reiatsu to the max while the katana whizzed towards them like a projectile.

"**It's just an illusion! Igno-**"

SQUICH!

Mikoto, who had glanced upon the scene amidst her fighting, had her eyes widened in amazement at what she had just witnessed.

"**W-What's going on?! What did you do?!**" one of the hollows yelled as the katana had completely pierced through a hollow's head, shattering it's mask while blood had sprayed out wildly.

Kurenai however just glared at them as another katana materialized above her.

'_What is going on down there?!'_ Rangiku herself was stunned at what Kurenai was pulling.

"Your souls don't deserve to be purified. I always hated you bastards anyway," the red eyed jounin muttered to herself as several more katana materialized above her, forming a dozen of them.

"**It's nothing, don't panic! She's just throwing swords!**" an Uchiha hollow yelled as he opened his mouth, again charging up a cero making Kurenai act quickly as she sent the katana sailing towards them at breakneck speeds.

WROOOSH!

'_Shit!'_ the crimson eyed jounin cursed as they fired off their attacks, the dense streams of fire engulfing her katana.

Her pupils however zoomed out in shock when the swords just phased through the fire attacks to continue onto their paths.

"**WHAT?!**" a hollow yelled as the projectiles approached them making the jounin smirk, even though she herself didn't know what the hell was going on, and as to how in the world she was able to make those katana materialize.

Whoosh!

"**N-Nani?**" the hollows exclaimed yet again in surprise as the katana had phased through them too before slowly disappearing into nothingness down its path.

"**An illusion?**"

'_What the hell is going on?! Why didn't they hit?!' _Kurenai thought in shock as she took a step back while the hollows began to approach her with predatory grins behind their masks.

"**See? I told you she was using illusions?! The first time she must have used an actual katana to fool us!**"

"**Kill this bitch!**"

Subconsciously taking several steps back, Kurenai closed her eyes in concentration.

'_Was that an illusion?'_

"**HARRRRWWAR!**" with a battle cry, all the hollows charged her while the smoke behind her slowly began to lift off now. Ignoring the swords again forming above Kurenai, they continued to charge.

"Stay away!" Kurenai yelled with clenched eyes as she swung her arm violently; all the katana again glided towards the approaching Uchiha hollows at blurry velocities.

SQUILCH!

SQUELCH!

QUISH!

SQUIASH!

"**Wha-What's going on?!**" this time the swords cut through several hollows, killing a few of them while the remaining ones had holes through different parts of their bodies. Blood had splattered across the ground while Kurenai herself took a step back in shock, not understanding what was going on?

'_What's happening to me? What's this power?...It's...it's happening on its own!'_ she pondered as she continued to step back while the remaining hollows began to regenerate.

Her body jerked when she felt herself hit something flat and solid behind her. She leaped back in a blur solely on reflex, a think veil of smoke still present as it slowly began to clear up.

Her eyes dilated in ground breaking shock at what was slowly being revealed in front of her. Her mind went blank as she found herself staring at some sort of large energy barrier in front of her.

'_What...is this?'_

The three large, slowly rotating black tomoes on the barrier only served to increase her confusion. A sudden gust of wind swept away the smoke when Kurenai felt her whole body freeze as she spotted an unharmed Anko lying on the ground behind the barrier, now unconscious.

"Anko! Oi, Anko! Are you alright?! Can you hear me?!" her heart was hammering against her chest as she called out to her best friend. Rushing forward, she hesitantly touched the barrier, her eyebrows rising in a pleasant surprise when her fingers went through it unharmed. Giving out a small smile, she quickly went through it before darting to Anko's side as she put the purple haired kunoichi's head on her lap.

"Hey, Anko? Are you alright?" getting no response, Kurenai leaned down to put her head against the unconscious kunoichi's chest, a relieved sigh escaping her lips when she heard the heart beats of her fellow kunoichi.

'_Thank Kami...'_

She however breathed in sharply upon noticing her curse seal...it wasn't there?!

'_It has vanished? I...don't understand,'_ she pondered.

Swoosh!

WHAM!

"Urgh..." Naruto groaned in pain, having broken through the walls of house. Opening his eyes slowly, he got up, now noticing himself lying in a broken tub- clothes all over his body.

'_Damn he's extremely strong...'_ he thought with a frown, now noticing the hole in the wall in front of him. Seeing the outside through the several holes he had made in the walls, he subconsciously noted the amount of rooms he smashed through to get there- living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms.

Mentally berating himself for the useless thoughts, he stood up shakily, wincing at the pain coursing through his body while the clothes over him fell off. His hand went to large gash on his back, which was healing at abnormally fast rates.

'_Well, gotta thank kyuubi for that,' _he mentally sighed, now walking sluggishly through the rubble towards the hole.

The blonde however did a double take upon seeing his reflection in a mirror on the side wall, a furiously blush coating his cheeks as he noticed a red lacy bra resting on his head.

"That damn hollow!" he cursed while grabbing the bra and throwing it into the toilet seat comically, inwardly swearing to enact his revenge from that hollow for the embarrassment.

"Damn him...I'm gonna kick his ass! I don't care how strong he is, but that arrogance of his pisses me off!" he muttered to himself with a frown, now travelling through different holes he had made during his crash landing.

A sigh escaped his lips when he seriously considered the situation.

'_But...that hollow is freakishly strong, not to mention the oddity of his size being that of a human. All of the hollows I've seen so far have been huge. But fighting him...and with my zanpakutou here...'_ he trailed while glancing at the broken zanpakutou in his hands, which was currently of no use in the battle

'_It's just like when I was fighting with Urahara-san...I feel so helpless fighting against such power and strength,'_ he thought in frustration when suddenly it him, his eyes getting widened as he remembered what Kisuke had told him, it somehow...it made sense now.

"_I can see you trying to protect your precious people, though it seems it's not effective. Can't you see I'm trying to kill you?"_

The blonde sweat dropped. Yeah, he definitely knew that Kisuke was trying to kill him back then. A frown however formed on his face as he clenched his fists.

'_Why is it not effective? I give my all when protecting my precious people, I'm even ready to sacrifice my life for them! How can it not be enough dammit!'_ he lowered his head in deep thought, this was all ridiculous and confusing. Was it a common trend for some strange person to come in his life and leave a puzzle for him to solve?

_"Can't you feel the resolve in my zanpakutou, to kill you? Can't you feel the resolve in Rangiku-san's zanpakutou, to protect you? I can feel your resolve to protect her, but I can't feel anything from your zanpakutou. Can you feel the resolve to protect Rangiku-san from your zanpakutou?"_

'_Resolve huh? A zanpakutou's resolve?'_ he gazed at his broken blade, clutching it tightly.

_"Is it that your zanpakutou refuses to obey you?...Or is it that your resolve is not strong enough to reach her, maybe she can't listen to you at all, maybe she can't feel anything from you?"_

'_She can't...listen to me?'_ his eyebrows were knitted in confusion as he lifted his zanpakutou to stare at it.

"_Why so afraid to go for the kill? A katana is meant to kill. A zanpakutou is meant to kill, however without the resolve to do so, it becomes dull...weak. Fighting with a zanpakutou, you're trying not to kill. It's like trying to swim against the river current, you and your zanpakutou disagree with each other. I guess your nindo contradicts your zanpakutou's desire Uzumaki-san?"_

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he started to walk towards the exit, the hole he had made just now.

'_That's right...I...I never went for the kill. Even while fighting those hollows, I never went for the kill. Knowing that I was purifying them...I always fought to purify them, but never fought them as if I was going for the kill. That's right...a zanpakutou is meant to kill, a katana is meant to kill, it craves blood,'_ stepping out of the rubble, out of the house, he stared at the guardian shinigami who too was lying in a crater with Fugaku slowly walking towards him.

'_I want to protect my loved ones, but I was trying to do that while avoiding killing...something that contradicts what a zanpakutou wants, what my zanpakutou wants,'_ the blonde closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

"**You're still here? I half expected you to be running for your life by now?**" he snapped open his eyes, whipping around to see Fugaku standing on the top of the house he had just crashed into.

"That means you were half expecting for me stay here too," Naruto replied with narrowed eyes when Fugaku pointed his zanpakutou at him.

"**The reason I haven't killed you yet...**" he started making the blonde look at him in slight confusion.

"**You are Uzumaki Naruto right?** **The one who saved Mikoto?**" this made Naruto's confusion increase.

"Yeah so? What's it to you?"

"**I think you should know, before you die, that all the hollows here are Uchiha, the ones who were killed several years ago that night**," this made the blonde freeze in shock. These were from the Uchiha clan?

"**And I happen to be the Uchiha clan's leader at that time**," Fugaku stated while Naruto's breathing hitched in his throat.

"Y-You're Mikoto's husband? Fugaku Uchiha?" he asked making the hollow chuckle.

"**So it seems that you died too huh?**" he questioned in mirth while Naruto kept quiet, resisting the urge to yell at him that he was alive.

"**I couldn't kill a demon like you when you were alive, but I will do that in afterlife!**" Fugaku exclaimed with a grin behind his mask making the blonde glare at him in anger when the hollow disappeared suddenly.

Clenching his fists, Naruto turned around in a blur...

BHAM!

"I'm not a demon!" to deliver a bone shattering punch to Fugaku's mask, completely destroying it as the Uchiha hollow was sent back skidding on the ground.

Fugaku had his head lowered as he halted, a chuckle escaping him while Naruto narrowed his eyes at him.

"**You always were an impulsive kid weren't you? I would really enjoy killing you demon brat!**" his reiatsu increased suddenly as the Uchiha lifted his head; a maniacal grin on his face while Naruto took a light defensive stance, a frown on his face.

"**I was going easy on you earlier, but let's finish this game**," a burst of reiryoku shot forth Fugaku as he dashed towards Naruto in a barely visible blur, tearing off the concrete floor on his path due to his high reiatsu.

The jinchuriki brought forward his broken zanpakutou for defence on instinct as he closed his eyes in concentration.

'_Resolve...resolve! Resolve! The resolve to kill! I have to make her hear me! She has to feel my resolve!'_ the whiskered blonde thought as the images of Rangiku, Mikoto, Anko and Ayame flashed in his mind- the people he wanted to protect, those who he would kill for.

'_Can you hear me?! Can you feel my resolve?! FIGHT WITH ME DAMMIT!'_ he screamed out to his subconscious, into his soulscape.

...

"Naruto..."

He snapped open his eyes, a shocked look crossing his face upon noticing that red haired girl standing beside him, staring at him with a small smile.

"Y-You...you're my zanpakutou," he muttered as his lips curved upwards in a small smile, he had done it.

"You...felt my resolve didn't you?" he asked in a low tone, now noticing that time around him had stopped flowing. She shrugged with a neutral look on his face.

"I felt it...the resolve to protect those who are close to you, your intent to kill. But most importantly, I came because you asked me to fight with you, because you needed my help," she spoke, now staring forward as he faltered at her reply.

"Nani? But I needed your help when I was fighting Urahara-san too!" he accused with a frown.

"You were not fighting with me back then. I could not feel anything from you...you were using me as a tool," she uttered with a frown on her face making him sigh.

'_Man this whole thing is so confusing but...she is right. I don't know how she knows, I was fighting as if my zanpakutou was just a tool. I felt nothing from my zanpakutou...Urahara-san was right, I could feel nothing from her.'_

"Gomen...it must have hurt you to endure my darkness, and now by me considering you just a tool. I now understand that you wanted me to go for the kill, that my resolve wasn't strong enough to reach you," the whiskered blonde verbalized making her shake her head.

"You're wrong Naruto. All I want, is your happiness...nothing else," she articulated in a low tone while his eyes widened in surprise.

"My...happiness?" it sounded so strange to him. She wanted his happiness? It made him blush lightly.

'_Wow...she can say the most embarrassing things so easily.'_

The blonde looked at her when she touched the broken blade in his hands. He stared at the blade in surprise when it started to repair itself, lightning sparks travelling from her hand to the zanpakutou.

"I'm so happy you don't consider me as a tool. Thank you," the smile she gave him, it was the cutest smile he had ever seen. He couldn't believe she was the same person who he had met the first time, when his dark side had taken over her. Her unique eyes- the sky blue sclera with glowing dark purple bolt-shaped pupil—they were emanating joy and happiness.

'_Just because I don't consider you a tool? Is that all you wanted?'_

"N-No...it's nothing," he murmured while rubbing the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed.

"No matter what, I will always fight alongside you. So, don't forget me," he smiled warmly at her before grinning foxily.

"You got it!"

She nodded as her form began to glow, slowly turning into raw lightning making him look at her in surprise.

"Don't worry, I'm lending you some of my power. We are going to fight together," she smiled at him when he remembered something.

"Wait! Can I give you a name? Something which I can call you by until you remember your real one?" he asked, knowing that this was not the time for dilly-dallying. Though since time had seemed to stop around him, he wanted to do this one important thing.

Her eyes seemed to lit up at that as she nodded at him with a bright smile.

"Hai."

He had thought over a name that could suit her the previous night.

"Um...how about Hyakurai? Can I call you Hyakurai-chan? I think it suits you," she nodded at it.

"I like it. Now let's go, protect your precious people!" she exclaimed with a determined smirk on her face making him nod.

"Yosh!" her form completely turned into lighting, now coming to rest in his left hand as it began to form another katana while time began to resume slowly.

'_Here goes...let's fight together!' _he thought with in fierce determination, now seeing Fugaku's approaching form.

"**Here I come blondie!**" the Uchiha yelled in his mid-dash, rearing his zanpakutou while ignoring the sudden increase in Naruto's reiatsu- which shockingly was equalling his own now.

WHISH!

His eyes were widened in surprise, his zanpakutou slashing thin air while Naruto appeared above him.

'_Wow...I...I can't believe I reacted so fast,'_ the whiskered thought, a surprised look on his face as he gazed at the two katana in his hands.

'_Wait!'_ he suddenly realized it. In one hand he was holding a katana whose hilt was made of lightning with two black ribbons tied to it while the blade was the usual metallic. In his other hand, the blade was made of pure lightning with the hilt being normal while two ribbons- made of lightning were tied to it. He deduced it was a reverse combination- the one his inner hollow, his darkness had shown him.

'_Is this Shikai? No, it can't be. Oji-san said that to achieve shikai, one needed to know his zanpakutou's name, the command to release it. Even my inner hollow said the same. If this is not a shikai...then what is it?'_

"**Oh, so you have unlocked shikai?**" hearing Fugaku's bored voice below him, he gripped the two katana in his hands while glaring at him.

The Uchiha hollow though was standing still down there, curiosity in his eyes.

"**I've never seen a shikai which turns a zanpakutou into a dual one...**," he stated when Naruto suddenly shunpo'ed out of his sight.

"**Heh, going on the offensive huh?**"

SQUIK!

CLANG!

"**Grhh...**" Fugaku grunted in pain and shock as the electricity coursed through his body; his zanpakutou currently grinding against Naruto's lightning one while his other hand was holding onto the blonde's other blade.

The Uchiha grinned evilly while Naruto had his eyes narrowed as he pushed more, making Fugaku skid back a bit.

"**Interesting, you can finally cut me**," he articulated as blood dripped down his hand, which was holding the blonde's metallic katana.

"Or electrocut you," Naruto grinned back challengingly making the hollow frown at him as he vanished to appear several meters away.

Fugaku shook his hand to get rid of the numbness while Naruto straightened himself, briefly noticing how the Uchiha's hand had healed instantly.

'_Is there any limit to that ridiculous healing?'_ he thought with a frown.

'_**Well well...isn't that interesting. He uses one blade to slice while the lightning one numbs his opponent in addition to slicing him with increased sharpness. If I had blocked his lightning blade with my zanpakutou, still...the metal would have conducted electricity and again would have shocked me, meaning one can't let that lightning touch him, or his blade**__,'_ Fugaku analyzed while Naruto stepped forward.

"Here I come," the blonde muttered as he dashed forward, lightning crackling around his lightning blade while Fugaku smirked at him.

'_**What a cocky brat!**__'_

Whoosh!

The Uchiha swayed sideways effortlessly dodging the first strike from his metallic katana while Naruto followed his initial attack with his lightning blade, slashing blurrily at Fugaku's head- aiming to kill as the Vaste Lorde ducked down.

The blonde gritted his teeth as he began to fire rapid slashes at Fugaku, who kept dodging them at ease with a smirk on his face- annoying Naruto.

"Damn...it!" he cursed, further increasing his speed as he began to slice wildly, his strikes now a barely visible blur to the naked eye, but so was Fugaku.

"**You don't really know how to handle two swords do you? And on top of that-**" he stopped when the blonde vanished to appear behind him in midair, the electric ribbon of his lightning blade clutched in his hand as he hurled it at Fugaku at blazing speeds.

'_**Always the unpredictable one, weren't you?**__' _the Uchiha did a back flip as the lightning blade passed over him, it's electric sparks slightly grazing against his white body.

QWISH!

Fugaku's eyes widened in surprise when the blonde appeared behind him to grab the lightning katana, the metallic blade now approaching his mid section.

"Your clan carries on with its arrogance even in the afterlife huh?!"

In between the back flip, Fugaku twisted his body on one hand, barely dodging the blade.

The Uchiha grinned as he increased his reiryoku drastically resulting in a violent shockwave. Naruto had no time to react as he was sent flying back with a jerk.

Blonde flipped in midair to skid on the ground, stabbing both of the katana into the hard soil to control his momentum.

He stood up with a stunned look on his face, now staring at Fugaku's amused eyes with something akin to disbelief.

'_I...did he just blast me away...with pure spiritual energy?'_ the blonde was now beginning to feel something wrong here. If that hollow was able to just send him away with pure reiryoku, was he being fooled into thinking that he could actually defeat this guy?

"**Ahh, that look of realization in your eyes. I love to see that look in my opponent's eyes every time. Now, do you realize the gap between our powers?**" Fugaku questioned with a smirk behind his mask while the blonde stood there, no words escaping his mouth.

"**Are you that pathetic that you didn't realize I was just playing with you all this time?**" the Uchiha asked when he blurred out of the blonde's vision.

"**Are you that pathetic to hope that you could defeat a Vaste Lorde like me?**" Naruto's blood ran cold upon hearing Fugaku's cold voice behind him, inches away from his left ear. He didn't need to see a blade approaching his heart from behind though, he could hear it, as it sliced the air, as it neared his flesh.

CLANG!

"Are you that pathetic to hope that you could defeat a guardian so easily?" the blonde's eyes widen upon hearing the guardian shinigami's voice behind him. He stumbled forward before turning around to see the shinigami having blocked Fugaku's strike with his zanpakutou.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes as he exerted more force into the clash while the guardian stood firm on his ground.

Naruto's knees buckled a bit when he felt the crazy amount of reiatsu that guardian shinigami's reiryoku was emitting- if it was making him struggle a bit, his reiatsu really was massive.

"**You...how?**" Fugaku gritted his teeth, now using his full strength as their blades grinded against each other, sparks coming off.

"Are you that pathetic that you didn't realize I was playing with you all this time?" Naruto smirked at the guardian's taunt while the Uchiha narrowed his eyes.

"You...Uzumaki Naruto...thank you for buying me some time. Now go and help your friends, they need it," the shinigami spoke over his shoulder making the jinchuriki turn towards the other battles taking place a little far away.

'_He's right...due to Fugaku's overwhelming reiatsu, I completely forgot about others. Wait...Anko!'_ he thought before flash stepping out of there, going full speed towards Kurenai and Anko, having sensed the latter's low reiatsu signature.

Kurenai stared forward with a stunned look on her face as she gazed at the hollows who were getting up after being blown away by the strange barrier in front of her. She looked on as the tomoes on the barrier began to spiral in, the barrier getting dispelled slowly when the three tomoes flew towards Anko, setting back on her neck to form the curse seal.

'_It was her curse seal...?'_ the genjutsu mistress thought in surprise as she stared at the heaven's curse seal.

"**Damn...what was that barrier?**" she turned her head back upon hearing that demonic voice. Setting Anko's head down, she stood up to stand defensively in front of her best friend.

"**It doesn't matter. Let's just finish her**," about six of them left, all of them again opened their mouths to charge up a cero.

'_I'm really starting to hate this attack,'_ she thought when...

SQUELCH!

SQUICH!

SPLASH!

All of them dropped down, their masks shattered as they began to disintegrate into reishi.

'_What the...?'_

Her eyes widened when a figure blurred to land in front of her, holding two katana- one of which was made up of lightning.

'_Ayame-chan was right...the moment they are charging their Cero, that's when you strike,'_ the blonde in front of her thought with a smirk.

Kurenai suddenly had a nostalgic feeling upon staring at the back of the blonde, his spiky locks.

Naruto slowly turned to face her, giving her a small smile when she suddenly clutched her head in pain. The blonde started to walk towards her while Kurenai could feel memories returning to her, that night...those hollows...the blonde in front of her...the one who had saved her life back then...what was his name?

"Kurenai-san, are you alright?" she jerked her head upwards upon feeling a hand on her shoulder, her eyes dilating in recognition of the whiskered blonde in front of her.

"N-Naruto? Y-You're a shinigami, aren't you?" she questioned making him nod. He knew he could've covered his face with the hood, but after receiving her message via Anko from that night...he didn't mind if she knew; he couldn't deny Anko's request after all.

Kurenai now fully remembered what had taken place that night, how Naruto had almost sacrificed himself for the village. Her eyes began to water up a bit when the blonde glanced at Anko.

"Is she okay?" she was not surprised to see the concern in his eyes; it relieved her, she was happy Anko had found such a good friend. Kurenai however felt her cheeks heat up a bit as she gazed at his facial features from up close.

"Kurenai-san, stay with her," he spoke seriously, staring upwards at something as she nodded at him.

"Hai, please help Mikoto-san and Rangiku-san," she spoke as he disappeared via shunpo. The crimson eyed jounin stared at the ground in sadness as she remembered those feelings that night.

'_A shunned boy like him, even with all the hatred and a demon inside him...he protects us. Not expecting anything in return, he continues to lay his life on the line. Why? Why didn't he just run away from here?'_

Mikoto was panting heavily now, a kunai in her hand with Rangiku crouched beside her, clearly exhausted.

'_Just one more...'_ only one hollow was remaining. With Rangiku's help, she had disposed all of them.

"Mikoto-san, I'm s-sorry but..." Mikoto glanced sideways to see the blonde panting heavily, she clearly was empty now.

After first fighting Kisuke earlier, and then taking on these high level hollows- she was clearly out of stamina and energy now.

"I understand..." the Uchiha matriarch muttered as she stared at the only hollow in front of her.

"**Even if you kill me, remember that this village will one day turn on you. They will never accept us**," the hollow, who too looked to be out of spiritual energy, wheezed out making her lower her gaze. Hearing the slightly feminine edge to the demonic voice, Mikoto could tell it was a female.

"Were you a mother?" she asked quietly when the hollow's reiatsu increased.

"**I was...I was a mother. My newborn daughter was killed! She...**" Mikoto's eyes widened when the hollow's mask began to crack. It shattered, revealing the face of a woman in her thirties, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"S-She was so beautiful. She was e-everything I had...I re-remember the sight of her blood on my hands, as I c-cried on her dead body!" Mikoto took a step back, tears forming at the corner of her eyes while the woman had her eyes clenched shut as tears continued to cascade down.

"D-Do you know h-how that...feels? Huh? I...the c-coup didn't even m-matter to me. All that m-mattered was my baby to me. I b-begged him to let her l-live!" Mikoto could feel her vision become blurry as she tried to stop her tears. The woman opened her eyes, an angry look in her eyes as she glared at Mikoto.

"She didn't deserve to die! No child deserved to die that night! It was their fault! IT WAS THE VILLAGE'S FAULT!" she screamed at her, the mask now slowly reforming while Mikoto had a hand over her mouth as she tried to control her sobs.

"I'm...s-sorry..." she muttered.

"**You're sorry doesn't mean anything to me! It wouldn't bring my baby back!**" the hollow yelled as it dashed towards her. Mikoto had her eyes clenched shut as she stood there rigidly, repeatedly muttering 'I'm sorry' as tears fell off her chin.

SQUELCH!

The Uchiha matriarch, after hearing the painful howls of the hollow- knew what had happened. She felt so low, Itachi was her son. He had killed the whole clan. She felt so low. The guilt, the shame which she had buried deep inside of her a long time ago had resurfaced full force...she didn't want to live. She just kept her eyes closed, more sobs escaping her lips as she slid to the floor, crying heavily.

"Mikoto-chan..." that voice, the warmth which had been a source of comfort for her since that night. Upon feeling that familiar hand on her shoulder, she threw herself forward, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, encasing her in his protective warmth.

Rangiku's eyes softened at she stared at Naruto hugging the raven haired kunoichi. She, on some level, could understand what Mikoto was feeling.

The jinchuriki had a sad look in his eyes as he hugged her tightly, her sobs being muffled into his shinigami garb.

"Please, control yourself Mikoto-chan. I may not completely understand your feelings, but you are stronger than that. Remember that you still have Sasuke. You can't give up like this. I'm here too, what about me huh?" Naruto spoke softly to her as her sobs subsided slowly, which the blonde knew she was controlling herself solely on willpower.

It wasn't the time to cry; they still had one more to take care of.

He turned to Rangiku, gazing at her in concern while she smiled at him warmly, nodding at him. No words needed to be spoken as he nodded back with a smile.

**BOOM!**

The trio's eyes widened upon feeling a humongous pressure in the air as they heard a blast take place nearby. Mikoto leaned back to wipe her eyes while Naruto slowly stood up with her.

"Rangiku-chan, Mikoto-chan, stay here..." he told them seriously making Rangiku nod, she couldn't stand up now anyway. Just as he was about to flash step away, Mikoto grabbed his wrist.

"No, please, let me go with you too Naruto," she spoke with pleading eyes making him sigh. Pulling her in, the blonde blushed a bit at their proximity as the duo vanished via shunpo.

"**So he finally came huh?**" Fugaku muttered to himself, currently panting a bit while his right arm was missing, blood dripping down his sliced shoulder as it healed slowly this time. The guardian shinigami however seemed to be unharmed as he stood several meters away from him. Craters, destroyed buildings, uprooted trees now littered around the area.

'_What is this reiatsu? It's...unbelievable,'_ the guardian thought, now sensing the barrier outside the Uchiha clan's estates being destroyed.

A figure suddenly appeared beside Fugaku, both the hollow and the guardian grunting under the massive reiatsu of the new arrival.

"**You can stop now Fugaku,**" the guardian's eyes widened upon noticing a familiar figure in the new arrival's arms.

"**Hai Madara-sama**," the hollow bowed, his arm now almost completely healed when Naruto and Mikoto appeared beside the guardian shinigami.

Naruto's eyes widened slowly as he saw an unconscious Ayame in the unknown man's hands.

"What are you doing with her?! Who are you?!" he asked angrily while Mikoto was frozen to her spot as she stared at the legendary man in front of her, one who was thought to have been dead a long time ago.

"U-Uchiha...Madara," she whispered to herself in groundbreaking shock.

"I asked who are you?!" Naruto yelled in anger as he stepped forward.

Madara, who had a completely normal appearance with no mask on his face, was wearing a black high-collared cloak. The guardian however looked at Fugaku in surprise whose mask began to crack while the white substance over his body began to evaporate, the Uchiha soon returning to his normal human appearance.

"Know your place boy," Madara spoke with a neutral look on his face, his reiatsu increasing further as both Naruto and Mikoto fell to their knees. Even the guardian shinigami looked to be barely standing as he struggled under the unbelievable pressure.

'_This guy...how can a hollow be that strong?'_ the guardian thought as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

Naruto gritted his teeth under the enormous pressure as he struggled to stand when the pressure decreased around them. Mikoto breathed in deeply as she panted heavily while the blonde stood up slowly, a small amount of fear in his eyes as he stared into the cold onyx eyes of Madara.

'_Just...what is this guy? There are people...that strong in afterlife?'_ he thought in disbelief, no longer surprised that a Vaste Lorde like Fugaku was bowing before him.

"I have no obligation to tell you anything. What about the others Fugaku?" Madara asked.

"I'm afraid all of them have been purified Madara-sama," Fugaku, who currently was bowing before him spoke.

"I see, well they served their purpose," he uttered, no change in his expression while Mikoto narrowed her eyes at him, rage filling her system.

"Uchiha Madara! The founder of Uchiha clan, were they nothing to you?! Is that what they were to you all along?! Just some disposable toys?!" she yelled at him in fury as he looked at her with a critical eye.

"Is she your wife Fugaku?" Madara asked while staring at her.

"Hai Madara-sama."

"Leave Ayame-chan alone!" Madara turned back to Naruto with an annoyed look on his face.

"Do you think I will do that, Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked making the trio's eyes widen.

"How did you know his name?" Mikoto questioned. A smirk formed on Madara's face as he stared at Naruto while the guardian shinigami went stiff.

"You are quite famous in the afterlife boy. Uzumaki Naruto- the child of prophecy, the human who carries a portion of the spirit king's powers."

Time seemed to slow down for Naruto as a gust of wind swept across the area while Mikoto too couldn't believe her ears.

"W-What?" the blonde questioned as he slowly narrowed his eyes.

"Don't fuck with me?! Give Ayame-chan back!" he yelled making the Uchiha shrug.

"Believe what you will then, time will make you see the truth eventually. Let's go Fugaku," Madara verbalized as a garganta opened behind the pair.

"Where do you think you're going?! Give her back you bastard!" the blonde shouted as his reiatsu began to increase, a surge of raw anger flowing through his body. He wouldn't let them take Ayame away! No way! He would sacrifice himself, but no way they were going to get Ayame!

"Take her then, if you can that is," Madara uttered as he took the first step towards the garganta while Fugaku smirked at the blonde.

"STOP IT!"

"Naruto control yourself!" the blonde didn't hear Mikoto's plea, all he could see was the pale face of Ayame hanging loosely over Madara's left shoulder. She was suffering from a high fever, her skin tone was pale. All of this was worsening her condition!

The blonde gritted his teeth as electric sparks began to crackle around his body, his reiatsu sky rocketing while Mikoto struggled to stand.

"Help him!" she yelled at the guardian shinigami. Just as he was about to move, again they felt the humongous pressure slam on them. Mikoto fell to her knees, struggling to breathe.

"If anyone except the Uzumaki moves, you all will be dead," Madara threatened with a serious look on his face as the guardian stood his ground- knowing it would be foolish to go against a being of such power alone.

"Uzumaki Naruto, if you can walk to a distance of one meter from me before I reach the garganta, I'll give her back," he spoke making the blonde look at him with wide eyes before glaring at the Uchiha.

"You think this is a game?! Playing with people's lives, is that what you enjoy?!" Naruto stepped forward slowly while struggling under the pressure, feeling the reiatsu increase whereas Madara narrowed his eyes.

"Watch your tone boy," he uttered while the jinchuriki continued to glare at him. Naruto began to take heavy steps, feeling the pressure increase at every step as he glared menacingly at Madara.

"Mark my words, you **won't get away with this!**" Mikoto, Fugaku and the guardian stared at him in surprise as red chakra began to seep out of him, the lightning sparks getting dense while Madara turned around towards the garganta, a smirk on his face.

"Marked them boy. See you later, I won't ask you to come again Fugaku," he spoke over his shoulder, now walking towards the garganta with Fugaku following him.

"**STOP! **_**I SAID STOP IT!**_"

BHOOM!

A burst of purple-black lightning shot forth Naruto upwards, his tone taking on a hollow-ish tone. A crater formed beneath the jinchuriki as dust began to rotate around him wildly. Mikoto, Rangiku and the guardian had to cover their eyes due to the intensity of the lightning.

'_What is going on?'_ Rangiku, who was sitting on the edge of the roof, looked up as she stared at the quickly forming clouds above them. The day's light intensity had suddenly decreased, the weather had gone cloudy.

Madara too looked up before glancing at the blonde behind him. His eyes widened a bit upon noticing Naruto's eyes- the sclera was sky blue with a glowing red bolt as the pupil. His whole form was covered in lightning.

Turning around, he smirked at the blonde, his reiatsu further increasing while even the guardian shinigami was brought to his knees by now. Naruto lowered his head, chunks of earth being lifted off due to his spiritual energy while the lightning crackled wildly around him.

Looking up, he glared at Madara, his eyes cold and full of hate

"_**Don't...Don't ever!**_"

"_**DON'T YOU EVER PLAY WITH PEOPLE'S EMOTIONS!"**_

**KRKKKKKSH!**

_**WHAM!**_

"W-What the...?" Fugaku stammered in shock, currently staring at Naruto, who was standing where he was a moment ago; only difference being Ayame resting in his arms bridal style. The Uchiha turned his head to glance at Madara, who had his head turned to his other side, a black scorching bruise on his cheek with lightning rustling around the deep wound.

"Impressive, your punch made me take a step back," Madara muttered as he turned back, the bruise on his cheek healing right in front of them.

Mikoto and Rangiku- felt like the ground had slipped from beneath their feet. They continued to stare at Naruto's back with astounded looks on their faces while the lightning around the whiskered blonde slowly died down.

"H-How did he...?" Mikoto turned to the guardian shinigami with wide eyes.

"It was pure speed, nothing else," the guardian spoke, oddly calm about the situation while Mikoto still couldn't comprehend what had happened right in front of her eyes. She didn't know what had happened- all she saw was that Naruto was standing there at one second, and then; less than a second later, he again was standing there with Ayame in his arms.

"I...I...how can it be? N-No one's...no one's that f-fast!" she exclaimed in horror of the absurdity while the guardian sighed.

"Well apparently he is. And he's not the only one," he articulated while she and Rangiku still couldn't come out of the shock.

Kurenai, who too had seen the scene after coming to check what was going on, with an unconscious Anko on her back- was dumbfounded. Right then, she knew that Naruto had matched the yondaime's hokage's speed, or maybe he was faster? She won't be surprised.

'_The difference however is...yondaime-sama's jutsu was a time-space one...this is, this is pure speed!'_

Naruto slid to his knees as he panted heavily, Ayame tightly clutched to his chest.

"What...what was that?" Fugaku questioned as Madara continued to stare at Naruto.

WHOOSH!

WHOOM!

"Teuchi-san?!" Naruto turned his head back at hearing Mikoto to see Teuchi on his knees, heavily bruised as he was panting profoundly in exhaustion. His eyes however widened a bit upon noticing three other shinigami standing aside Teuchi, hoods over their faces.

"Nah...Naruto! Ayame!" the old chef panted making the blonde nod as he turned a bit to show him Ayame, making the chef sigh in relief. The whiskered blonde turned back towards Madara, a serious expression on his face.

'_This guy even defeated oji-san so easily, and I gave my all in that punch. All it did was put a simple bruise on his cheek, which too is healed now. And who are all these shinigami?'_

"Uchiha Madara..." one of the newly arrived guardian shinigami stepped forward, now standing beside Naruto.

Madara closed his eyes with a sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest- his next words shocking most of them present there.

"It's been a while, otouto."

* * *

><p><strong>Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eewww! This was LONG! Like, the longest chapter I've written since I became an author- it's almost 11K! -.-<strong>

**Anyway, in this chapter we saw some major plot development. And it's the way I'm doing things, so not everybody has to like what I'm doing right now. For those that liked it and are curious for what's going to happen- rest assured everything will be explained in due time. **

**Please, PLEASE review here. I'm putting in a lot of effort for the plot of this fic, and I would REALLY appreciate your opinions and suggestions. Spent a whole day writing this non-stop, so it would be a real downer if this chapter didn't invoke much response from my readers.**

**And OH! Lately I posted the links (Deviant Art) to my art I drew for my fanfics at the bottom of my profile. It contains some scenes from this fic too. Check them out if you're interested. :)**

**Don't forget to review please! :D**

**N6023**


	22. Familiar Arrival

**Chapter 22- Familiar Arrival**

'_This guy even defeated oji-san so easily, and I gave my all in that punch. All it did was put a simple bruise on his cheek, which too is healed now. And who are all these shinigami?'_

"Uchiha Madara..." one of the newly arrived guardian shinigami stepped forward, now standing beside Naruto.

Madara closed his eyes with a sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest- his next words shocking most of them present there.

"It's been a while, otouto."

'_Otouto?'_ Naruto thought in shock as he glanced at the guardian shinigami standing beside him, Ayami tightly clutched in his arms.

"What happened when I was alive holds no semblance to my existence now. Get out of here," the guardian standing beside the blonde spoke sternly when one of the two guardian shinigami beside Teuchi intervened.

"But fukutaicho!"

'_Vice captain?'_ Mikoto scrunched her eyebrows in confusion as the now recognized fukutaicho raised his hand in authority, silencing his companion.

Madara kept staring at the hooded guardian standing beside Naruto for a few seconds.

"Fugaku, let's go," he uttered while shifting his gaze towards Naruto, who glared back at him coldly. The Uchiha smirked lightly before blurring out of their vision, into the garganta along with Fugaku. The black rift slowly began to close as Naruto and Mikoto relaxed.

"A-Are you Uchiha Izuna?" Mikoto asked after taking a step forward when the guardian standing beside Naruto turned around to face her.

"Naruto, take her back to the apartment, you know the protocol," Teuchi ordered with a serious expression making the blonde nod while Mikoto turned her head towards Teuchi in confusion.

"Teuchi-san, wha-" the jinchuriki appeared beside her via shunpo. There was a serious look in his eyes, silently telling her to shut up as the blonde vanished out along with her and Ayame out of the premises.

"Na-Naruto, what's going on? Where am I being taken to?" Mikoto asked, an embarrassed blush on her face with the way Naruto had his left arm around her waist as he carried her.

"I'll explain later Mikoto-chan," was his short answer, the blonde travelling through a series of quick flash steps when they appeared on a roof, in front of Rangiku.

"Naruto! Thank Kami you're alright!" Matsumoto exclaimed in relief, currently panting as she sat back against the fence of the roof- a weary look on her face.

The blonde nodded at her with a small smile.

"Think you can move on your own Rangiku-chan?" he asked as she shook her head with a sigh.

"No, I...I can't, I really exhausted myself," she uttered with a pout making the blonde chuckle lightly.

"I'm still here Naruto!" he looked down sheepishly upon hearing Mikoto as she frowned at him. Setting her on the ground, he pointed his index finger at Rangiku before muttering.

"**Hainawa **(Crawling Rope)" a rope of yellow energy shot forth his index finger to wrap around Rangiku's form. The blonde grinned lightly at seeing the confused look on Matsumoto's face before pulling her into his chest.

She squealed in response, the rope now wrapping around Naruto's waist- connecting both of them. The whiskered smirked upon feeling her voluptuous assets squish against his chest while Matsumoto blinked at him in surprise.

"This should do it..." he uttered with a grin before turning to Mikoto, stretching out his left hand towards her.

"Come here Mikoto-chan, I promise I'll explain everything to you," he assured her with a warm smile as she walked forward, a timid sort of smile on her face. Grabbing his hand, she too squealed upon being pulled into him with a jerk.

"Let's go then," he verbalized, his left arm wrapped around the Uchiha's waist as she lightly blushed upon feeling his muscular arm around her.

'_I can't believe he is Naruto...he grows so much in this shinigami form,'_ she thought, staring at his handsome features with a warm look in her eyes, a small smile tugging her lips. The group, all attached to the single blonde- disappeared from the roof.

Appearing in front of Kurenai and Anko, the latter resting on the former's lap, the jinchuriki verbalized.

"Kurenai-san, please follow me," a solemn look on his face making the genjutsu mistress stare at him in confusion. At the same time she wondered as to why Rangiku seemed to be glued to Naruto's body with Mikoto in his left arm and Ayame safely tucked in his right one.

"But where? Anko is injured, and so is Rangiku," she argued.

"Just follow us Kurenai-san, we'll explain everything. Anko will be treated too. And your strange powers, we might be able to explain them too," Rangiku worded with a smile making Naruto look at her in confusion.

"Fine...let's go," Kurenai agreed with a nod, a sigh escaping her lips as she lifted Anko bridal style.

Naruto blurred out via shunpo with Kurenai following him using shunshin as they exited the Uchiha clan estates.

Mikoto remained quiet throughout the journey, secretly enjoying the blonde's arm around her- much to her embarrassment. She couldn't help but relish in his warmth, leaning into his chest while he had a firm grip on her waist, something which made her cheeks go red.

'_What am I thinking? He's just a sweet twelve year old child, although cute...but in this form...'_Mikoto shook her head, trying to get rid of the embarrassing thoughts while Rangiku was busy in teasing the blonde.

"How are you feeling Naruto-kun?" her body pressed flush against his, Matsumoto grinded herself lightly against him. Naruto's step faltered a bit as he continued to travel using flash steps, now glaring at her.

"Stop this Rangiku-chan..." he whispered to her while she just smirked before leaning in, nibbling on his ear lobe sensually.

"Why...Naruto-kun?" her voice seductive as she rubbed her lower region against his crotch, her breathing itself getting heavier. Steeling himself, he continued to resist the pleasure, making sure not to drop Ayame or Mikoto as they trekked towards Teuchi's apartment.

**Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment:**

'_There it is!'_ Naruto sped up before landing at the back of Ichiraku's ramen stand, the front door of Teuchi's apartment in front of him.

"Isn't this, the Ichiraku's home?" the blonde nodded upon hearing Kurenai behind him as he opened the door before entering. Setting down an embarrassed Mikoto, he deactivated Hainawa before gently making Matsumoto sit on the couch.

"Wait here a moment Mikoto-chan," he spoke before moving towards the bedroom, signalling Kurenai to follow him- who was still holding an injured Anko.

Entering the bedroom, a confused look crossed his eyes before he walked forward to gently place Ayame on the bed. Kurenai too laid Anko on the other empty bed beside a square sized medium window.

"Naruto, I seriously think we should take them to the hospital," hearing Kurenai's concerned voice, he turned to look at her.

"Kurenai-san, please trust me. Anko is just suffering from reiryoku exhaustion, not what we ninja call chakra exhaustion. The medics in the hospital won't be able to treat her. Same goes for you too, you must be feeling a bit dizzy, a bit empty from the inside? Not physically weak but, as if you're mentally tired?" he questioned making her eyes widen as she nodded wordlessly.

"That's because you are low on spiritual energy. I don't know how, but you and Anko seem to possess some spiritually related powers, something which shouldn't be possible for us, living humans," he vocalized as she took a step back, a shocked look on her face.

"Spiritual?"

Seeing the stunned look on her face, the blonde just sighed before offering her a small smile.

"Let's just go outside, I'll explain everything. Mikoto-chan needs to know this too," he uttered softly. Taking a step forward, he stopped upon feeling Ayame's hand holding his.

"Naruto...kun," the jinchuriki whizzed around before crouching beside her, a worried look on his face as he held her slightly cold hand.

"Ayame-chan, how are you feeling?" he asked, rubbing her soft hand tenderly as she opened her eyes blearily. Kurenai however quickly walked out.

"W-What happened?" she asked softly, staring at him while he just shook his head- covering her hand protectively.

"Nothing, just rest. Please get well soon," he muttered when Kurenai returned with a glass of water, Mikoto and Rangiku behind her.

"Here..." Naruto nudged her softly after taking the glass from the red eyed jounin. Ayame again opened her eyes slowly. Supporting her in his arms, the blonde made her drink slowly before placing her back gently.

Rangiku averted her gaze as she watched him cover Ayame with a blanket.

"Rest Ayame-chan, I'll be back in a moment," Naruto voiced softly before bending down to kiss her forehead.

"I-Is she a shinigami too?" Mikoto questioned upon noticing the female Ichiraku wearing the black shinigami garb.

Naruto nodded as he stood up.

"Let's go."

Exiting the bedroom, the blonde now stood in front of Rangiku, Mikoto and Kurenai with a serious expression on his face.

"Mikoto-chan, first I want to know...how did you get your memories of that night back?" he asked.

"What do you mean get my memories back? It's not like I forgot what had happened that night? For some reason though, everyone else in the village seemed to have forgotten. I knew it was your work, so I kept my mouth shut to see how things played. I had to know what was going on," Mikoto spoke while crossing her arms over her chest whereas Rangiku and Naruto looked at her in surprise.

"How can that be? You mean to say that you weren't affected by Kakeisoushinki?" Rangiku asked making the Uchiha glance at her with dumbfounded look in her eyes.

"Kakeisou what?"

"No wait, remember when jiji told us that she was deep into the forests behind the hokage monument that whole night along with my body? The guardian used Kakeisoushinki on the village, so she must have escaped its effects," Naruto explained making her nod.

"Okay, what is going on here? What are we talking about anyway? I'm really losing my patience now Naruto," Kurenai uttered with narrowed eyes. The whiskered blonde grinned at her sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah well, you see Kurenai-san, this will take some time to explain," he said when Mikoto shifted forward in her seat, a look of anticipation on her face.

"We have time, so you can start now Naruto-kun," the blonde sighed in defeat when Matsumoto stood up somewhat wobbly on her feet.

"You continue Naruto-kun, I want to talk to Ayame for a moment," the ex-lieutenant articulated as she walked towards the bedroom.

"You know Ayame-chan is not in any shape to talk right now. Can't you wait till she gets better?" he questioned seriously as she shook her head, staring at the door in front of her.

"No, this is important," the blonde female shinigami mumbled before opening the door.

Entering the bedroom, Matsumoto was startled upon seeing Ayame staring at the ceiling. Walking forward, she sat on the edge of the bed- a tense silence in the room.

Rangiku was clutching the shinigami garb on her lap tightly, her eyes closed as she took a deep breath.

"Rangiku-chan..." Ayame's voice was soft, floating out of the silence as the blonde opened her eyes.

"Do you love Naruto-kun?" Matsumoto's sudden voice was heavy, carrying so much emotions as she stared at anything but Ayame's eyes. The brown haired shinigami smiled softly at the out of the blue, awkward question as she shifted her gaze towards the blonde.

"Does it matter now?" Ayame asked with a chuckle while Rangiku lowered her head, clutching the blanket tightly as she got her answer.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her voice cracking a bit while Ayame gazed at her with a surprised look in her eyes.

"Sorry? If only the situation got better..." the ramen girl whispered as moisture began to gather in her eyes. She shifted her gaze upon feeling a warm liquid fall on her hand.

Ayame softened her eyes upon noticing pearly drops of liquid falling from behind the curtain that was Rangiku's wavy blonde hair.

"I-I'm sorry..." Matsumoto again muttered with a sniff, her hand covering her mouth while a lone tear slipped out of Ayame's eye as she placed her hand on the blonde's.

"He's happy with you...that's all I care about. Don't worry...I won't come between you two. All I want, is Naruto-kun's happiness...that's all I've ever wanted," the brown haired shinigami whispered, her eyes closed as more tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Matsumoto leaned down as she buried her face into Ayame's shoulder, hugging her warmly.

"F-Forgive me..." the blonde whispered in Ayame's ear as she wrapped her arms around her sick friend, now choking on her words.

Ayame however just stayed quiet as she herself wrapped her warm arms around Rangiku.

'_It's no one's fault...this is life...'_

**Naruto's Apartment: Later**

"Phew!" Naruto exhaled as he opened the door, entering his apartment while holding Rangiku bridal style. Closing the door behind him with his foot, he walked into the bedroom. The blonde glanced at Rangiku curiously, finding it strange that she hadn't uttered a word during the whole journey and even now- she was awfully quiet; it just wasn't her.

Finding it reasonable due to the day's events, he gently placed her onto the bed. Matsumoto had a sad look on her face as she turned away from him, staring outside into the starry sky. The blonde stared at her still form for a few moments before he turned to walk out of the room. Entering the kitchen, he was surprised to see his real self standing there, waiting for an instant cup of ramen to boil.

'_Ah, I completely forgot about my replicated soul,'_ he thought when the chibi Naruto turned to him, a sour look coming onto his face- remembering how the shinigami Naruto had insulted ramen earlier that day.

"So how did the survival test go?" he asked when the chibi Naruto stared at him with a bored look on his face.

"Idiot, you'll get the memories when you return your body. Didn't you know that?" the replicated soul asked making him scratch his cheek, an embarrassed on Naruto's face.

"Anyway, time for you to return," he spoke while walking forward when the replicated soul leaped back with a glare.

"No way! Not until I eat ramen!" he argued making Naruto sweatdrop.

"That ramen is going into my body anyways you retard. It's the same thing," he worded while the chibi version just shook his head in denial.

"At least I'll get it's heavenly taste!" Naruto just slapped his forehead before sighing in aggravation.

"I'm not in the mood for this," he muttered seriously before blurring out of the replicated soul's vision.

Appearing behind the replicated soul, Naruto gently hit the back of his body's head with Hyakurai's hilt (note that he now calls his zanputou 'Hyakurai'). Catching the light green soul replicating pill, the blonde entered his body.

Now in his real physical body, Naruto's eyes widened upon receiving the bunch of memories of the survival exercise that team seven underwent at training ground three.

'_I see...well that's a relief, at least we passed,'_ he pondered with a smile. Now standing in the living room, he again got out of his physical body before placing it on the couch. Covering his physical body with a blanket, Naruto locked the front door before walking into the kitchen as he prepared another cup of ramen.

Sleeping in his shinigami form beside Matsumoto had several advantages. If anybody spied on his apartment at night, all they would see was Rangiku sleeping at the bed alone with him sleeping on the couch as they won't be able to see his shinigami- spiritual form sleeping on the bed. If anybody saw him sleeping with her in his real body, he knew the rumours would spread like wildfire. So in the end, it was a win-win situation for both him and Matsumoto.

With two ramen cups in his hand along with chopsticks, Naruto entered his bedroom. He frowned upon noticing her still laying there motionless, facing the window. Walking around the bed, now facing her, the blonde sat on the edge before offering her the instant ramen cup.

Rangiku had a trance-like look on her face as he waved the cup in front of her face to get her attention. She snapped to reality before noticing him smiling at her. Smiling back, she sat before taking the cup and chopsticks from his hand.

The duo ate in silence, Naruto finishing earlier as he threw the cup into the dustbin. He gazed at her for a few seconds as she quietly ate ramen.

"What's up with you? You being quiet really freaks me out Rangiku-chan!" he laughed lightly as she smiled at him weakly.

"No, it's nothing Naruto-kun. I'm just a bit tired, nothing else," she spoke, parting a strand of her blonde hair out of her eye. Naruto stared at her for a few seconds more before he shifted towards her on the bed. The whiskered blonde wrapped his arms around her shoulders in comfort while Matsumoto leaned into his chest, a contented sigh escaping her lips as she ate her ramen slowly.

"Is something bothering you?"

Being in his arms like this, in his shinigami form, she sometimes really forgot that Naruto was just a twelve years old child. And right now was one of those moments.

Taking the empty cup from her, he threw it into the dustbin as she wrapped her arms around his waist- cuddling into his warmth.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hmm..."

"Do you love me?" the question caught Naruto completely off-guard as he leaned back a bit to gaze into her eyes- those sky blue orbs currently filled with doubt and hope.

"Rangiku-chan...what's with the question, all of a sudden?" he questioned in confusion as she grabbed his hand before resting it over her heart.

"I love you, with all of my heart. Can you feel my heart, beating strongly whenever I'm with you?" the jinchuriki's eyes widened as he felt her heart beat. Lifting his hand, he gently cupped her warm cheek- a small assuring smile on his face.

"I don't know what love is, since I've never experienced it before. But if it assures you...here," he guided her soft hand to the left part of his chest.

"Feel it, isn't my heart beating as strong as yours? Isn't my reiatsu as lively as yours right now?" he asked with a light grin. Rangiku giggled lightly while she wiped her right eye before cuddling with him as she kissed his jaw affectionately.

"Man, but what's with you so suddenly? I've never seen you act so mushy and all? Where's my cheerful, sexy and busty blondie?" he laughed as she hit him playfully on the chest, pouting at him cutely.

"But...seriously, something's wrong? Is it because of what today happened?" the jinchuriki questioned as she closed her eyes when suddenly she remembered what she had seen back there, in the Uchiha clan's estates.

'_What was that power Naruto-kun released? His reiatsu was so heavy, it had suddenly sky rocketed...he was so fast.'_

Shaking herself out of those thoughts, more importantly, she remembered the ferocious look in Naruto's eyes when Madara was about to take Ayame away.

"Do you care for Ayame-chan?"

Stupid question...yeah she knew it, but she just...she needed to confirm some things.

Naruto however, leaned back from the hug as he looked at her with a quizzical look in his oceanic orbs.

"What's with these strange questions Rangiku-chan? Did something happen?" he laughed it out, his voice holding a serious undertone to it as she smiled at him warmly, shaking her head.

"No, nothing's wrong. If the questions are making you uncomfortable, you don't have to answer them," her smile melted his heart as looked away, his cheeks a little red.

"Yes, of course I care for Ayame-chan. She took care of me since I can remember, she has always been so sweet and kind. She is very, very precious to me. The things she has done for me, I can never repay her and oji-san. There's no way I'd let that bastard take Ayame-chan from me...from her home," the jinchuriki by now had a grim expression on his face as Matsumoto gazed at him.

"I see...do you find her like...attractive? I mean, like physical attraction. I can tell Ayame-chan is a beautiful young girl, she herself always has several males of the village lining up for her," the ex-lieutenant spoke making him glance at her.

"Really? I never...noticed," he uttered, his features contorting into a frown while Matsumoto observed him closely.

"Well, so many males come to their ramen stand especially during her shift, often hitting on her, asking her for dates," she further verbalized when he now completely turned to her, his frown getting deeper.

"They do? And has she ever gone out with any of them?" he questioned seriously while Rangiku found the situation to be quite amusing as she played with the strands of her wavy blonde locks.

"I have asked her about it, but it seems she keeps refusing all of them. She never had any boyfriend, nor does she give any of them the time of the day. I mean, shouldn't she go out once in a while, just to enjoy herself?" she asked with an innocent look in her sky blue orbs while he 'hmph-ed' in response, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, she doesn't need to go out with any of those jerks. They probably just want to take advantage of Ayame-chan. And besides, if she wants to go out, I'll take her out. She always says that she enjoys being with me anyway," he articulated while nodding to himself while Rangiku raised an eyebrow at that.

"Like, take her out on a date?"

For a third person, this conversation was now steering towards one of the strangest ones between two lovers. What would be the most dangerous topic for a male in a romantic relationship, Naruto however was, riding the destructive wave quiet safely- not even realizing how dangerous the wave was.

"N-No! N-Not like a date? I m-mean..." Naruto sputtered as he scratched his cheek, a scarlet blush on his face.

"I-I mean like, just take her out if she wants to you know. Not an official date, but just Ayame-chan enjoying herself. She would kill me if she even gets to know that it was a date! And anyway, you and me are together now right? I would never want to make you sad, I will go on dates with you only," he grinned lightly while Matsumoto giggled softly while covering her mouth.

She looked at him with warmth and love in her eyes as he laughed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Hehe, I know it's silly. You don't have to go on dates with me if it's awkward for you. I mean, going on a date with a twelve year old can freak out anyone, haha!" his laughter subsided as Naruto noticed her gazing at him with such affection and love.

Getting embarrassed and a bit nervous, he averted his gaze.

"Heh, you don't have to stare idiot," he muttered with an awkward chuckle as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek tenderly.

"You're adorable Naruto, totally irresistible. I'm probably the luckiest woman alive...as well as dead to be in your arms like this," she worded, resting her head against his chest, her tone that of admiration, respect and love for him. The whiskered blonde however was stupefied upon hearing her.

He did not knowing how to react, the situation was so awkward...yet inviting for him, her words so foreign...yet warming his heart like never before.

"And I'm _the_ luckiest bastard alive to have you in my arms," he voiced with a smile, kissing her forehead as she snuggled into him.

'_Well aren't we lucky to have him Ayame-chan?'_

"I'm tired Naruto-ku~n," she whined childishly with a pout making him laugh as he gazed at her.

"I know, you did exhaust yourself today after all. You should sleep now Rangiku-chan," he spoke with a warm smile as she leaned upwards after grabbing his shinigami garb, her eyes closed when she exhaled on his lips.

"I'm tired, but horny too," she whispered, pushing her voluptuous breasts into his chest. Just when Naruto was about to speak, she quickly captured his lips- moaning pleasurably at the contact as she snaked her arms around his neck. He felt himself completely blown away by the passion and pleasure as she kissed him erotically, deliberately moaning into the kiss.

Leaning back, Matsumoto pouted at him, her lower lip touching his as she grabbed his hand before guiding it to the revealed flesh of her left breast, making him part her garb to expose her nipples. She arched her back, pushing out her breasts as they jiggled under his palm.

"Touch me...I want your hands and lips all over my body," she breathed out into his ear while Naruto gulped, feeling her hardened nipple under his palm.

'_Oh I'm definitely one lucky bahahestard!'_

"Rangiku-chan..." he exhaled, finding it hard to believe that this was reality, not just merely a dream. They both crashed their lips into each others', kissing each other fervently as he lifted his right hand to place on her right fleshy globe. Rangiku moaned into the kiss while the whiskered blonde began to knead her tits, his hard manly palms making her go crazy.

"Yes...ahh yes...so good Naruto," she muttered in between a series of quick wet kisses, her warm arms wrapped around his neck tightly. Breaking from the kiss, the jinchuriki kissed her delicate jaw before further leaning down to kiss on her neck.

"Oh yes...Naruto...please don't stop," she moaned, pulling her head back to expose more flesh of her neck to him as he placed deep kisses on her neck- running his tongue over her creamy skin. Placing his thumb against the edge of her garb, he pulled it down slowly- exposing her shoulders as he rubbed them gently while she sifted her fingers through his blonde locks, going wild due to his gentle yet passionate ministrations.

'_Yeah, and definitely a great lover too.'_

**Uchiha Clan Estates**

"I can't believe those hollows would specifically target our compound this time. But still, this much damage? What were those hollow hunters doing? Can't they do their job properly?" Sasuke muttered with a frown, currently eating after having just returned from training. Mikoto too was eating her dinner, an irritated look on her face as she sighed at her son.

"Sasuke-kun, the hunters tried their best. Those hollows were very strong," she spoke when he narrowed his eyes at her.

"How can you say that with such surety? We can't see them, neither the hollows nor those hollow hunters. We can't even see them fighting, and you earlier said that even the Sharingan can't see them," he worded making her curse under her breath.

"Well it's only a speculation. If the hollows were able to inflict this much damage to the compound, I'm sure they must have been strong. I mean, the whole month those hunters have been disposing off those creatures expertly," she patted herself on the back while he stared at her a bit longer before continuing eating.

"Anyway, I'm so proud of you for finally becoming a genin Sasuke-kun," she worded with a warm smile as he 'hn-ed' in response, opting to stay silent.

"How did your teammates do in the test?" she asked in general curiosity making him frown.

"Not much...Naruto, the dobe and the dead last of our class...heh, he's definitely something. I thought he was all talk, but... he's very unpredictable. His strength and stamina are definitely impressive, but the idiot lacks here," the raven haired genin uttered while pointing at the side of his forehead with his thumb while Mikoto looked at her son in amusement.

'_Oh Sasuke-kun, you're definitely in for a lot of surprises when it comes to Naruto-kun.'_

"Sakura is the brains of our team but she he has no physical skills as a kunoichi. She's smart and intelligent, but lacks here," he articulated before patting his bicep making her nod with a smile.

"Well that's how a team is, isn't it? Teammates support each other, cover each other's weakness and grow strong as one. Instead of complaining about your teammates' weaknesses, we encourage them to train harder. It's good if you compete with your teammates, that's healthy in the long run. But when jealousy comes knocking in, that's when things go downhill. You may be the strongest in the team right now, but don't let that get to your head. I can keep on going, but you'll probably get annoyed at your nagging mother, so just keep these things in mind Sasuke-kun," she smiled at him as he averted his gaze, a light frown on his face.

"I'm going to my room," Sasuke muttered after standing up. Putting the dishes in the sink, the young Uchiha went upstairs while Mikoto just sat there.

'_Naruto-kun was here today, fighting with us against the hollows. Then how was he able to give the survival test at the same time? He didn't tell me about that...'_ she thought with a sigh, not yet being able to come to terms with what she heard in the Ichiraku's apartment today.

'_The afterlife huh? Really, is it that vast...does the afterlife truly hold that much? Shinigami, hollows, pluses, soul society, spirit society, guardian shinigami, reiatsu, reiryoku...zanpakutou?'_ shaking her head, the Uchiha matriarch stood up lazily.

"I'd better turn in, my head fucking hurts."

Rarely in her life up until then did Uchiha Mikoto ever curse, but she could justify it as an after effect of coming in contact with the absurdity that was afterlife- and then, when she was _still_ alive.

**Ichiraku's Apartment**

Ayame currently sat on the bed with her back against the wall, a thoughtful look on her face as she gazed at the ceiling. There was a poignant countenance in her brown orbs, staring into the blank space without batting her eyelashes.

Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as she reminisced about how she had treated Naruto earlier.

_**Flashback**_

Opening her eyes blearily, Ayame blinked for a few times to focus her vision when she heard a familiar cry from just beside her.

"Ayame-chan!"

Turning her head in the direction of the proverbial voice, a small smile tugged her lips upon seeing the blurry blonde locks.

"Naruto-kun," her voice was almost inaudible, her soft lips barely parting as she opened her half-lidded eyes.

"Ayame-chan, how are you feeling? Are you alright?!" her smile widened upon noticing the concern in his voice, which faded as quickly as it came as it hit her fuzzy mind. The reason for her current state, as much childish and absurd as it sounded, it was lovesickness. How she had discovered the blooming feelings between Naruto and Rangiku in the worst way possible.

Her eyes quickly scrunched up, her lips curling down as she clutched the bed sheets tightly.

"Ayame-chan?" Naruto called with a quizzical expression on his face as he touched her shoulder when she clenched her eyes shut, her body tensed up.

"Hey...what's wrong? Hey," the blonde spoke, a worried look on his face as he shook her shoulder while she just laid there, biting her lower lip as she controlled herself, breathing deeply.

'_I've got to control myself,'_ she spoke to herself in her mind, taking deep breaths as she lifted her hand to rub over her eyelids to get rid of the moisture. Taking a sniff, she opened her eyes, not staring at him.

"I...I'm alright Naruto-kun, just a bit tired. Can you leave me alone?" her voice was on the verge of cracking as she averted her gaze.

"What? No way! I'm not gonna leave you even for a moment, not until you're alright!" Naruto exclaimed in defiance making her again clench her eyes shut.

"Naru...to just...get out," her voice was strained as she turned her head away from him. Knowing he was with Rangiku now, it was tearing her heart from inside to see him fuss over her like this. She had to detach herself from him, she had to get rid of her feelings for him. That was the only way for her, to get over her feelings and move on. She knew the kind hearted person that Naruto was. Confessing to him about her feelings would only trouble his innocent mind further, just like how Shiroi's confession had done to him.

"Ayame-chan, what are you talking about? Please rest, I'm really worried about you," Naruto uttered softly, reaching for her hand resting on her stomach.

His touch sent an electric bolt through her body as she jerked her hand back.

"J-Just leave me alone Naruto...please," there was a hint of pleading in Ayame's voice as a tear rolled down her soft cheek.

'_Please don't touch me...please don't. I will not be able to control myself, not now...every part of my body is screaming at me to take you for myself. Naruto...please, don't make this harder for me.'_

Silence followed as she kept staring into the other side. Few seconds went by quietly when she turned her head a bit, glancing at him from the corner of his eyes for her heart to melt instantly. He was staring at her, in confusion. His eyes were so innocent as they tried to decipher, desperately trying to know what was going on with her. Those deep oceanic orbs held such sweet innocence, looking at her in concern. God she loved him so much...so so much. It was killing her, she just wanted to get up, hug him tightly to her and kiss his brains out, to never let him go.

Being with him for so long, her feelings for him blooming over time, she had hoped that one day Naruto would realize his feelings for her too. But her lovable blonde genius was an idiot when it came to women, which somehow added to his charm too. Maybe she should have just told him straight out that she loved him so much, that she was willing to do anything to make him happy, that his happiness meant the world to her. But no, she wanted to show her love for him by her actions, she wanted to shower him with so much love...so much love that it would become damn impossible for him to not notice her obvious affection for him.

She wanted for him to notice himself, and for not to go tell him herself.

'_Maybe I was foolish...still...'_

"If...If you want to stay h-here, p-please stay quiet," Ayame articulated, exhaling softly as she closed her eyes. She knew he was still staring at her, trying to come to terms with her strange behaviour.

"So um, you sure I can stay here? I mean uh...if you want I can go Ayame-chan," he was still worried for her, not wanting to disturb her. She shook her head, moving her hand to rest on his.

"No, just...stay here with me," the blonde nodded with a small smile as he squeezed her soft hand.

"Sure, anything for you Ayame-chan."

_**Flashback Ends**_

A sigh escaped her lips as she cupped her forehead, taking a deep breath.

"I need to distract myself," she muttered to herself.

"Do you need anything Ayame?" Teuchi's head popped in as he opened the door of the bedroom a bit.

"No Tou-san," Ayame replied with a smile. "How are you feeling?" he asked with a smile, opening the door a little wider, his wounds now bandaged.

"I'm feeling better now," she verbalized, her smile dimming a bit.

"So, this guy you told me about, he came?" Ayame questioned as the soft fatherly look on Teuchi's vanished immediately.

"We'll talk about this later Ayame, you have to rest now," he worded seriously when she narrowed her eyes.

"I'm alright now otou-san. But I think I have the right to know the whole thing. Why does that man want me? You always ignore the topic, but I think it's time that you tell me everything. I have the right to know dad," she voiced back seriously. More than curiosity and anticipation regarding the secret Teuchi was keeping from her, she desperately wanted to divert herself from the topic that was 'Naruto' and this was the perfect distraction.

**Naruto's Apartment**

"I'm cummiiiiii~ngg!" Rangiku screamed in mind boggling pleasure as she arched her back, clutching Naruto's head to her breasts. The jinchuriki clenched his eyes upon feeling her inner walls tighten around his prick as he too came with her, milking her insides.

Both of them were sweating profusely, panting heavily as the whiskered blonde laid on top of Matsumoto who had her arms wrapped around him in a warm embrace. Her fleshy and soft thighs were locked around his waist, her wavy strawberry blonde hair sprawled on the bed.

"Oh...that...that w-was amazing," Rangiku exhaled, inhaling the scent of his blonde hair when Naruto made to pull out of her.

"No you don't baby," she whispered, clenching her insides around his manhood making him look at her in suprise.

"Eh...what?" the jinchuriki asked as she smiled at him, hugging him closer to her chest.

"Just stay like that for tonight, I love how this feels," Naruto blushed at what she said as he just buried his face further into her squishy tits while she kissed him on the head. Grabbing the covers, he pulled them over them with a jerk as she closed her eyes, sighing in contentment.

'_This is true heaven...'_

**Above Konoha: Several Hours Later**

Into the dark starry sky, above the village hidden in the leaves, materialized a rift as it slowly enlarged to form a flowing gate like structure. It slowly began to open, revealing a blinding white light as it pierced through the darkness.

A foot stepped out, forming ripples on the invisible surface in the sky.

"Mah, such intense spiritual energy here. As expected of the Elemental Nations, huh Hitsugaya taichou?"

The glowing white light slowly began to withdraw as the gate started to close.

"It would be better if we concentrate on our mission."

Three figures now stood high above Konoha, the moonlight reflecting off their forms.

"Way to go and ruin our fun Hitsugaya taichou. Kira, can you sense her reiatsu?"

"I'm on it senchou."

**Well, here is it. Not long enough considering the amount of time after which I updated, but this starts the next arc here, which I guess all of you by now have already guessed as to what it is.**

**Review please, and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Things are going to really heat up from now on, so be ready! :D**

**N6023**


	23. Won't Let You Go So Easily!

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><p><strong>Chapter 23- Won't Let You Go So Easily!<strong>

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><p>"It would be better if we concentrate on our mission."<p>

Three figures now stood high above Konoha, the moonlight reflecting off their forms.

"Way to go and ruin our fun Hitsugaya taichou. Kira, can you sense her reiatsu?"

"I'm on it senchou."

A silver haired man, wearing a white haori looked around with a mysterious smile, his eyes opened slightly.

"Quite the beautiful sight, won't you agree Hitsugaya-taichou?" he questioned when a silver haired boy, also wearing a white haori frowned at his words.

"Let's just stop enjoying the scenery and focus on our mission. We have to avoid the guardians, you should remember that," Toshirou Hitsugaya uttered with a serious countenance when the blonde shinigami beside him spoke.

"Sorry taichou, but I can't sense her."

"Well that's a problem now isn't it?"Ichimaru Gin verbalized while Hitsugaya began to increase his reiatsu.

"Getting impatient aren't we?" Gin uttered with a smirk as he glanced at his fellow captain.

"No, I'm-"

"You don't have to do that, I already know you're here," the trio snapped their heads back to see a guardian shinigami- a few lightning sparks around him as they slowly vanished while Kira had a startled look on his face.

'_I didn't even sense him...it's like he instantly teleported here!'_

"I presume you're the guardian of this place?" Toshirou questioned, his features schooled into a calculative look.

The hooded shinigami from the zero squad just nodded his head.

"What business does Soul Society have here that Central 46 had to send two of their captains and a vice captain?" he uttered calmly when Hitsugaya stepped forward.

"The vice captain of my squad, Matsumoto Rangiku, was sent on a mission to Karakura town more than a month ago. As soon as she entered the Senkaimon, she was found missing and wiped off our detection systems. We have recently received information that she was, as impossible as it may sound, thrown into this dimension after being chased out of Dangai."

The guardian however nodded.

"I see. It kind of surprises me that Soul Society would send two captains to fetch just one vice captain," he uttered making Hitsugaya's eyes narrow.

"Soul Society does pay importance to every one of its protectors. I have come here to take my comrade back," he articulated seriously when Gin set a hand on his shoulder.

"Now let's not get so serious Hitsugaya-taichou. I'm sure guardian-san was just playing with us," he worded with his patent mocking smile.

"By the way, I'm the secondary guardian of this village, Konoha," the guardian told them making Kira look at him in confusion.

"Then who..." the trio turned their head downwards as a blurred figure approached them.

SWISH!

"This is the guardian of Konoha here," the guardian shinigami voiced as Teuchi appeared beside him via shunpo.

'_To think they would send two captains and a vice captain just for her. I've known Central 46 for so long, is she that important?'_ the Ichiraku thought with a grim look on his face.

"I'm Ichiraku Teuchi, the guardian substitute shinigami of Konoha," he introduced himself as Kira adopted a perplexed look.

'_Substitute?'_

"Hitsugaya Toshirou, captain of tenth division," the silver haired captain of short stature spoke.

"Ichimaru Gin, captain of third division."

"Kira Izuru, vice captain of third division."

Teuchi acknowledged with a nod as stared at them.

"I won't play around the bush. Are you here for Matsumoto Rangiku, vice captain of the tenth division?" he asked, his fists clenched while Hitsugaya just nodded in response.

The Ichiraku lowered his head as a sigh escaped his lips, his eyes closing for a moment.

'_I never expected them to find her here. They shouldn't have been able to locate her.'_

"From where did you get your information regarding Matsumoto Rangiku? As far as I know, anyone who gets 'thrown' into the Elemental Nations is bound to stay here forever since connecting this dimension to either Soul Society or the other living world is almost next to impossible. It's even illegal in Soul Society to research on **reijutsu **(spirit techniques) that could connect to this dimension via Senkaimon. I'm curious, is the ever so strict Seireitei finally breaking its rules," Teuchi uttered making Toshirou frown.

"We were ordered by the Central 46 to come here. How it received the information regarding my vice captain's whereabouts is none of our business, and neither yours. As for the Senkaimon which we just used to come here, the credit goes to the Research and Development Institute. Now, where is Matsumoto? It's strange that we can't sense her reiatsu at all," he articulated when their eyes widened suddenly.

"Taichou..." Kira muttered as Toshirou averted his gaze in a particular direction of the village.

"Hai, I feel it now."

'_I'm sorry Naruto but, it seems it's unavoidable. We were hoping that they could never locate her, but now that they have done...and even entered this dimension, it's something I can't interfere in._'

"Well she looks quite eager to go back," Ichimaru uttered as he sensed Rangiku coming towards them.

"There's another shinigami with her? Beside the two guardians here, who could it be?" Hitsugaya muttered when two figures blurred in front of them.

The two groups stared at each other as Toshirou frowned deeply upon seeing his subordinate.

"Matsumoto..." he mumbled, now staring at the slightly flushed face of Rangiku with Naruto standing beside her.

"Took your sweet time getting here, huh Rangiku?" Gin mocked with a light grin.

"Taichou! Gin, Kira!" Matsumoto called with a small smile with the jinchuriki beside her sporting a serious expression.

'_So these are the captains of soul society. That kid is her captain, and that other silver haired guy must be Gin,'_ the blonde deduced, slightly nervous as he stood there along with Teuchi and the guardian.

"Matsumoto, we're here to take you back to Soul Society," Hitsugaya verbalized with a frown as he crossed his arms over his chest when Ichimaru stepped forward.

Rangiku sighed as her eyes softened.

"Gomen taichou, but I belong here now. I don't want to come back, I resign from Gotei 13," she spoke seriously, holding Naruto's hand beside her. At this, Kira and Toshirou's eyes widened as they stared at her.

"You resign? Why?" the undertone of anger was clear in the silver haired captain's voice as he glared at her.

"I can't tell you the reasons right now. If the Soul Society wants to exile me, it can. But I've made my decision. I'll be living here from now on. Seireitei has been my home for so long, but this village, it's where I feel truly a-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Hitsugaya fired as a shockwave of reiatsu burst out from him violently. Just when the Naruto was about to raise his own spiritual pressure, he felt Rangiku squeeze his hand as she shook her head lightly at him.

"It's not your playground where you can decide when to go home! It does not work like that! You think it's that simple?!" Toshirou exclaimed with a frown when Gin stepped forward.

"Let's cut to the chase Hitsugaya taichou, we are here to arrest you Rangiku," he uttered making Toshirou close his eyes while others' eyes widened.

"Arrest?" Teuchi questioned as Naruto stepped forward, his right hand on the hilt of Hyakurai.

'_It must be because...'_

"She gave her powers to a human, that's a huge crime in Soul Society. So upon the orders of Central 46, she must face a trial for her crime. And the only punishment for such a crime that I'm aware of is death," Ichimaru said making the blonde narrow his eyes, his fists clenched by his sides while Rangiku's eyes widened a bit.

"I only transferred them because I was injured and it was the only way. Besides, the transfer was temporary!"

"We can see that Rangiku-san, but it doesn't change the fact that you did break the law," Kira spoke with a sad look on his face as she opened her mouth, no words coming out. Naruto glanced at her, his eyes getting soft upon noticing the fear in her eyes; he could tell she was extremely nervous and anxious now.

_"Then what if I don't go to Soul Society? What if I choose to stay here for the rest of my life? Would you trust me then?"_

He remembered when she had said those words to him. She was so confident right then; she gave him strength back then. And now...doubt was filling her, fear was reflecting in her sky blue orbs. She needed him.

Squeezing her hand, the whiskered blonde frowned deeply as a large shockwave of pure reiatsu burst out of him.

The trio from Soul Society had their eyes widened as they felt the massive spiritual pressure.

'_Such reiatsu...who is this guy?'_ Kira thought as he stared in the slightly glowing purple orbs of Naruto.

"I don't care about the rules of Soul Society. It's her life, she chooses what she wants to do. A shinigami's duty is to guide the souls to their rightful place as well as protect living humans from spiritual beings like hollows. I was the human that night who was attacked by a hollow, she was deeply injured due to the limiter on her. Knowing that it was a crime, she transferred her powers to me so that the hollow could be defeated. Is it a crime that she was just doing her job?!" the jinchuriki questioned firmly as Matsumoto looked at him in surprise, her lips curling upwards in a smile.

"Really? So you're the human who she transferred her powers to? Rangiku's powers have already returned it seems, and yet you still are a shinigami. Which means you already had your own spiritual powers from the beginning huh? What's your name boy?" Gin asked, his smile widening while the blonde narrowed his oceanic blue eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

...

...

Pure silence followed those two words as a cool breeze swept by the group. Both Kira and Toshirou had their eyes widened in shock.

"U-Uzumaki Naruto," Hitsugaya stammered while Ichimaru began to chuckle.

"Uzumaki Naruto...the child of prophecy, so the myth was true after all! A human forced to carry a demon of immense power since his birth, a human having to face the hatred of those around him, a human with abnormal spiritual awareness, one who carries a portion of the Spirit King's powers," Gin explained making Naruto blink in surprise while Teuchi had a frown on his face.

"How do you know about the demon inside me?" the whiskered blonde questioned, a wary look on his face as Rangiku had her eyes lowered.

"We didn't know, as I said, it's a myth in the spiritual world," Ichimaru smirked.

"Yeah so what? I've been told I'm famous in your world, so what?" he asked as the silver haired captain chuckled.

"You think you're famous in a good way? The child of prophecy is considered to be a bad omen amongst the spiritual beings. His life containing suffering and anguish, one who would bring nothing but pain to those who're close to him. The spirit king gave the title of child of prophecy to you. According to him, that child would either bring destruction...or peace to the world, way too idealistic don't you think? Everyone knows such a thing can't happen. A child suffering that much, with such a huge burden on his little shoulders, one who has faced nothing but darkness in his life...is bound to become dark. A personified evil who's going to make those around him suffer, deliberately or not."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he rubbed the back of his neck, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Wow, so I'm that famous. Cool I guess, sounds like a bedtime story to me in which a cursed ancient monster threatens to destroy the world. Anyway, I don't care. Rangiku-chan wants to stay here, and so I won't let you take her back," the blonde uttered seriously as Matsumoto looked at him in surprise.

"Why Rangiku? All the captains and vice captains know of this, I'm surprised you stayed with this human considering the myth. You're not that noble so as to help a cursed being like him. Something else must have possessed you to do such a thing. I mean, breaking the law of Soul Society, transferring your powers to him, why?" Gin questioned as Hitsugaya and Kira stayed quiet while Rangiku frowned at him.

"Are you suggesting that I had an ulterior motive? I helped him because he needed it back then, not because I knew that he was the child of prophecy," she uttered with anger evident in her eyes.

"You knew?" she turned to notice the look of shock on his face as she lowered her gaze.

"Yes I knew, but it never mattered to me. I was shocked that night to know just in front of whom was I standing, but I never judged you at the first glance. I helped you because you needed it. After meeting you, all I saw was a normal human child who needed a friend...nothing else," she uttered softly as Teuchi and the guardian remained quiet.

"But why didn't you ever tell me?" he asked with a frown as she sighed.

"I couldn't tell you something I didn't believe in, especially when it concerned you. I didn't want to burden you with more problems Naruto. Please, trust me that I had no motives in mind," Matsumoto pleaded with a vulnerable look in her eyes as the blonde turned back to the trio with a steeled expression

"Whatever be the case, Rangiku has made her point. She doesn't want to go, and so she stays," he articulated in a firm voice while Matsumoto looked at him in surprise- he had never called her without the affectionate honorific. Was he angry with her?

"And we have made our point clear. Her crime cannot be forgiven, and we have been ordered to capture her, by force if necessary," Hitsugaya declared as he touched the hilt of his zanpakutou.

"Guardian-san, I presume you are aware by now that this is a matter of Soul Society, something in which neither you, nor the substitute shinigami can interfere," Gin uttered with a smirk making the blonde's eyes widen as he turned back to Teuchi and the guardian.

"Oji-san?" he questioned while Teuchi looked at him straight in the eye.

"He's right Naruto, neither I or guardian-san here can interfere. Rangiku-chan is a wanted criminal in Soul Society, we cannot stop them from arresting her. That would be against the laws of Spirit Society. We are the protectors of the Elemental Nations as well as the Royal Palace. And hence we are not allowed to interfere in the matters of Soul Society, the same being for them too," the older shinigami explained in a monotone voice as the blonde clenched his fists before turning back to the trio.

"Fine then! If you can't, then I will. I don't fight for the Spirit Society, I only became shinigami to protect the ones precious to me. I will take them on if I have to," he spoke when Rangiku squeezed his hand.

"Naruto no, you have to calm down. You can't win against a captain, and with two captains and a vice captain...there's no way..."

"Truly a foolish boy. You think you can take us out?" Gin questioned with a sneer as the whiskered blonde unsheathed his zanpakutou.

"Naruto please stop! These are captains we're talking about! They're extremely strong!" Rangiku exclaimed in a low tone, concern in her voice as the blonde kept staring at the trio in front of him.

"Teuchi-san stop him!" she turned to the Ichiraku behind her who just closed his eyes, shaking his head at her.

"Kira..." Gin signalled his vice captain as Izuru nodded before unsheathing his zanpakutou.

"Show this rookie how shinigami fight," Ichimaru uttered as Naruto only smirked at that while Kira walked forward.

'_Rookie huh?'_

"Naruto please, you don't-"

"Stay quiet Rangiku-chan!" the jinchuriki yelled as he too walked forward, his zanpakutou tightly clutched in his hand while Matsumoto gazed at his back in surprise.

"Stay back. I won't let them take you. Not another person who's precious to me," the weight that the low tone of his cold voice carried felt so heavy as he pierced through her soul right then- steeled determination in his deep oceanic orbs.

"Oi Ichiraku-san, just so you know...this human is interfering in our business. And so we won't take the responsibility if he gets killed," Gin spoke, his eyes closed as he smirked coldly while Teuchi just kept his eyes closed.

"Gin please! You have to understand! Taichou!" Rangiku called as Toshirou just ignored her, currently staring at Naruto.

The blonde however just smirked back at Ichimaru.

"Was that you trying to intimidate me? Sorry it didn't work," he uttered as Gin opened his eyes slightly, that smirk still on his face.

"Know your place boy," the silver haired captain voiced in a deathly cold voice as Naruto raised his zanpakutou to point at him.

"If that was another try at intimidating me, you failed again. I know of the history between you and Rangiku. She considers you someone important to her, but from where I'm seeing- I don't think the feeling's mutual. You actually seem eager for her trial," Naruto articulated when he heard Kira's hostile voice.

"I can tolerate a lot of things but someone talking like that to my captain. And when that one dares raise his blade at him like that, it gets personal for me," Izuru muttered as he began to increase his reiatsu while the blonde smirked at him.

"And it was personal for me the moment you said you were here to take her back," he spoke while pointing at Matsumoto behind him with his thumb.

'_This guy is a vice captain, no big deal. And the fact he has a limiter makes it all the more easy, but the fact that there are two captains here is what makes it extremely difficult. Even with the limiters activated on them, they are much experienced than me. And I should've already guessed that oji-san and that guardian won't be able to help...they're bound by those stupid rules,'_ frowning a bit, Naruto stood face to face with Kira several meters in front of him.

'_Naruto-kun...just please, be careful,'_ Rangiku thought, extremely worried for the one she loved as she clenched her fists. She had never thought that Soul Society would actually be able to track her down in this dimension; it was next to impossible after all. But it had happened, and in just a span of few minutes- Naruto was risking his life for her. She did not want this, she decided to stay here because she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

'_I've got to get the upper hand from the start,'_ Naruto thought with a serious expression as he blurred out of Kira's vision via shunpo, surprising the later with his sudden speed.

"So he does know Shunpo..." Gin muttered while Izuru stood still, ready to stop the predicted attack from behind him.

SQUELCH!

Toshirou's eyes widened a bit as Naruto stood just in front of Izura, his zanpakutou having pierced the flesh of his side.

"Don't underestimate me," the whiskered blonde muttered with cold eyes as Izuru coughed a bit.

Whoosh!

Naruto dodged the incoming slash as he leaped back, blood drops falling off the tip of his zanpakutou.

'_Yeah, I can't hold back. I have to aim to kill, I can feel Hyakurai's resolve,'_ gripping the hilt tightly, he glanced at his blade before turning to Kira.

'_This guy's no joke. Of course he won't be, he's the child of prophecy after all...something we all considered just some sort of cursed myth,'_ the blonde vice captain gritted his teeth as he lifted his zanpakutou in front of him, a thin line of blood on his chin.

"You should consider yourself lucky, I don't let just anyone see my Shikai...you've earned it," he murmured before voicing out the command.

"**Omete o ageru...Wabisuke! **(Raise your head: The Wretched One)."

Naruto watched as Izuru's blade lost its curve and straightened, where a normal katana would've ended, the blade made two 90 degree angles, forming three sides of a square reminiscent of a hook.

"Heh, that's quite the unusual Shikai," the whiskered blonde commented when Kira flash stepped towards him.

CLING!

"Naruto wait!"

He could't pay much heed to Rangiku's voice as Izuru slashed at him furiously with blurry strikes while Naruto continued to block them. His eyes soon widened when he felt Hyakurai getting heavy, much heavier than its normal weight.

'_The hell...'_ the blonde began to exert more muscle power over dodging Izuru's strikes, each time getting difficult for him to move his zanpakutou.

SQUISH! SQUICH!

"NARUTO!" Rangiku screamed as the blonde's blood splattered into the dark sky. Naruto coughed out some blood, two large crosses on the front of his body, his shinigami garb torn due to the slashes as he slid to his knees with Kira standing in front of him with a grim look on his face.

"You're done for," Izuru declared as he spat some blood sideways. He however narrowed his eyes as the kneeling jinchuriki in front of him began to chuckle lightly.

"I...I s-see now..."

WHAM!

"Gargh!" Kira exclaimed in reflex upon receiving a blurred kick to his mid section as he slid back several meters due to the force of the impact.

'_What happened? How fast is this guy?!'_ the third division's vice captain thought in surprise as he clutched his gut in pain, a surprised look on his face. Toshirou and Gin however were quiet, along with Teuchi and the guardian.

Naruto stood up slowly, his eyes narrowed as he held Hyakurai in his right hand.

"Give it up, without being able to lift your blade...you're as good as dead. I've slashed at your blade fifteen times, it's quite impressive that you're even able to lift your zanpakutou," the vice captain uttered with his usual half lidded eyes while the whiskered blonde smirked at him.

"I'm not the only one lifting this blade. My zanpakutou can pull her weight. We support each other, if she gets too heavy...I help her stand," Kira lowered his gaze to his opponent's right hand.

"Judging by the way you're hand is trembling, I can see you're barely able to lift it," he articulated. Naruto grinned lightly as he lifted his blade to point at his opponent- something which made Rangiku, Gin, Toshirou and Izuru's eyes widen in surprise.

'_His eyes...'_ Hitsugaya noted, a startled look on his face as he gazed into Naruto's crimson orbs- black slits in them.

Teuchi however had a small smirk on his face, his arms folded in front of his chest.

'_You've grown as a shinigami...Naruto.'_

Izuru looked on with curiosity as Naruto's zanpakutou began to glow purple in color as the blonde closed his eyes. Toshirou raised an eyebrow when the jinchuriki pulled another blade, made of pure lightning from his original zanpakutou.

'_What's this...his shikai? But he didn't even recite any command, or his zanpakutou's name,'_ Hitsugaya thought as he gazed at the two blades in curiosity. Their design was something that greatly piqued his interest- one katana had a blade of pure lightning with a usual hilt while the other had a typical metal blade, but with the hilt made of lightning this time. Slight sparks lightning crackled around the two blades as Naruto smirked at Izuru's startled expression- his reiatsu having further increased.

'_His reiatsu is at a captain's level...how can a mere human possess such amount of spiritual energy? I've heard about the ninja from the elemental nations possessing considering amounts of reiryoku, but this is crazy!'_ Kira thought with gritted teeth as he struggled under his blonde opponent's humongous reiatsu.

"I see now, your ability to increase the weight of whatever your shikai slashes only works for solid objects," Naruto uttered with a smirk as he effortless lifted his lightning blade, the other blade down by his side due to its increased weight.

SWHOOM!

CLANG!

"Khrgh!" Kira exclaimed in electric shock, having blocked Naruto's strike with the lightning blade with Wabisuke as he quickly flash stepped back further.

The blonde stood up with a wide smirk.

"Feel that shock? You should know metal's a good conductor of electricity- and it's a shame for you cuz this information is coming to you from a two time academic failure!" he grinned as Izuru gritted his teeth, shaking his right hand to remove the numbness.

'_Time to finish this!'_ his expression suddenly getting serious, the jinchuriki flash stepped away from Kira's vision, leaving lightning streaks behind.

Rangiku's eyes widened in fear when she saw Gin mutter something as she read his lips.

"**Ikorose: Shinso** (Shoot To Kill: God Spear)"

"NARUTO LOOK OUT!" she screamed out as the blonde appeared behind Kira, his lightning blade ready to slice the shinigami.

WHOOSH!

**SQUICH!**

Kira stood with wide eyes as he slowly turned his head to notice a blade having completely pierced through the blonde's left shoulder, blood streaming down his shinigami garb. Naruto coughed out violently as drops of blood fell off his left hand- currently holding his metal katana.

The blonde had a surprised look on his face as he traced the attacking blade back to where Gin was standing with his back facing him- the silver haired captain's zanpakutou having tore through his haori to extend all the way past him.

"Naruto!" the jinchuriki gritted his teeth as Rangiku appeared beside him in a blur. Hitsugaya was looking at Naruto with a surprised look in his eyes.

'_To think he was able to lift that heavy blade in time to deflect Gin's blade at the last second...'_

"Naruto you okay?" Matsumoto asked him as Ichimaru's blade retracted out of the blonde's shoulder making him groan in pain.

"G-Get back," he muttered as the heavy metal katana fell from his left hand- the blonde no longer able to lift it due to the gaping wound on his left shoulder. Rangiku, currently crouched beside him held deep pain in her eyes as she stared at the pained look on his face.

'_He's fighting for me, giving his all without caring for his life. I won't let him do this alone!'_ she glared at Gin's back before standing- unsheathing her zanpakutou with Izuru having created a little distance from the duo.

"I'm sorry Gin, but I won't let you harm him any further," she muttered to herself with a resolute look in her eyes.

"**Unare: Haineko!" **her blade soon turned into ash as it flew towards Naruto, flowing protectively around the injured blonde.

Kira watched on amazed as Naruto smirked, lifting his index finger as the ash particles began to revolve around the digit.

'_So you want to protect me too, huh Haineko-chan? I guess you were eagerly waiting to be called out,'_ his eyes closed while Rangiku too looked back at him with shock.

'_Haineko's acting of her own will?!'_ she thought as the blonde stood up slowly, the ash particles still revolving around him as he walked forward, the lightning blade still in his right hand.

"Stay back Rangiku-chan, this is not your fight," he spoke with a serious expression as she looked on with a stunned expression at Haineko revolving around him- she had never heard of such a thing, a zanpakutou never acted on accord of its own will.

"Well well, so you're choosing to protect him Rangiku?" Gin spoke with a smile as he turned to face them while Naruto spat some blood.

"I won't call you coward for attacking sneakily like that. That would make me a hypocrite cause us ninja do the same. And by the way, she's not the one controlling her zanpakutou right now," he spoke as everyone's eyes widened at that, even Teuchi and Guardian had surprised looks on their faces.

'_Impossible! Haineko is protecting him?!'_ Hitsugaya thought in shock when the jinchuriki dashed forward with a burst of visible purple reiryoku.

Kira's eyes widened in realization as he noticed Naruto bolting towards Gin.

Ichimaru just stood there with a smile as the blonde approached him. He calmly took out his wakizashi sized zanpakutou before pointing it at the nearing blonde. Naruto however narrowed his eyes as he increased his speed when Gin's blade glowed before extending towards him at mind boggling speeds.

THRRSHH!

The silver haired captain's eyes widened when the ash particles revolving around the blonde blocked his Shinso, having concentrated themselves at the point of impact.

'_Haineko really is acting on her own...it's like an automatic defence for that kid,'_ Hitsugaya thought in realization.

"HAAAAAARGH!" Naruto yelled as he lifted his blade.

CLANG!

Ichimaru winced at the sudden electric shock as he leaped back in a blur, having blocked the blonde's lightning blade.

"Looks like blocking is out of the question hmm," he smirked, holding his numb right wrist. Naruto just stared at him with a grave countenance as he blurred out via shunpo.

WHOOSH!

Gin leaned sideways to avoid a slash, that smirk on his face all along as the blonde glared at him.

"**Shakkahou!"**

Ignoring the ball of red energy nearing him, Naruto continued the onslaught of his blurred lightning strikes on Gin.

TRHSHHH!

Izuru's eyes widened when his attack was again blocked by those ash particles around the blonde.

'_What...is going on here?'_

Rangiku currently stood with her fists clenched, a troubled look on her face. She had been warned prematurely by Teuchi that if ever Soul Society came for her, she was not to attack back at any costs- it would only tend to make her punishment worse. She was relieved that Haineko was acting of her own will- this way Hitsugaya, Gin and Kira knew that she was not willingly protecting Naruto, even though it was clear that she was ready to do so if the moment called for it.

SWASH!

'_Damn this guy moves like a snake? I didn't come close to cutting him even once,'_ Naruto thought, currently panting as he held his injured left shoulder with Haineko revolving around him while Gin stood in front of him.

"Are you finished yet?" Ichimaru asked with a wide smile when the blonde lifted his left hand as he winced a bit in pain. The silver haired captain looked on with surprise as the ash particles began to revolve around his blood coated fist.

'_He's controlling Haineko!'_ Hitsugaya and Izuru thought in shock when Naruto waved his hand towards Gin as Haineko flew at blazing speeds towards the captain.

'_Impossible!'_ Teuchi mused, completely perplexed as to how the jinchuriki was controlling someone else's zanpakutou so easily. Gin opened his eyes slightly, revealing sky orbs as the ash particles approached him at mind boggling speeds.

'_Now's my chance!'_ Izuru thought with narrowed eyes as he flash stepped towards Naruto.

"You think I'm an idiot," the blonde uttered as he lifted his lightning blade to point it towards the approaching vice captain.

"**Byakurai! **(Pale Lightning)" Izuru's eyes widened when purple lightning shot forth the tip of the lightning blade- travelling at lightning speeds towards him and he knew there was no way he could react in time.

'_Shit!'_

**KHRSHH!**

Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise when an ice wall formed out of thin air to form defensively in front of Izuru- absorbing most of the attack before being crushed into shards.

"**Hainawa!** (Crawling Rope)" the blonde didn't have time to react when a whipping rope of yellow energy wrapped around him tightly, paralyzing him.

"Argh!"

"That's enough from you," the jinchuriki turned his orbs towards Hitsugaya who had his index finger pointing at him, a serious expression on the tenth division captain's face.

"Grrgh!" Naruto struggled with gritted teeth as he tilted his head to notice Gin flash stepping to avoid Haineko, not coming in contact with the ash particles at all.

"I won't...let you take her!" the jinchuriki growled in ferocity as he glared into the frosty eyes of Hitsugaya.

"Sorry, but you don't get to decide things here," Toshirou uttered when his eyes widened as Naruto's reiatsu began to increase further.

"I've told you...**she has made her decision!**" a shockwave of violent reiatsu emitted from Naruto as lightning streaks began to crackle around him violently, the rope around him disintegrating slowly while the whiskers on his cheeks began to deepen.

'_What...is this kid? His reiatsu is off the charts!'_ Toshirou thought when he narrowed his eyes.

"Taichou stop!" he paid no heed to Rangiku's cry as the silver haired captain began to build reiryoku while the ropes around Naruto started to break.

'_I have to do something! I won't let him harm Naruto!'_ Matsumoto thought with narrowed eyes as she flash stepped towards Hitsugaya when Kira suddenly appeared in front of her, Wabisuke pointed at her- a serious look on his face.

"Rangiku-san, give it up. Come with us quietly," Kira uttered with a sad look in his eyes as Matsumoto looked at Hitsugaya in alarm, who started to chant.

"**Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six- Bakudo no Rokuichi: Rikujoukourou!** (Way of Binding 61: Six Rods Prison of Light)" again several beams of yellow energy shot forth his index finger as they slammed into Naruto's midsection in the form of six energy beams from all directions.

The blonde's eyes widened when he felt his reiatsu being blocked abruptly- not able to move a muscle now.

"D-Damn it!" he exclaimed, trying to increase his spiritual energy or muscle his way out when he felt the cold metal of a blade against his neck.

"Matsumoto, either you call back Haineko or he dies," Hitsugaya, now standing behind Naruto warned as he stared at his vice captain with his frosty orbs.

Rangiku's eyes widened as she quickly turned to the ash particles after Gin while they immediately stopped attacking the captain- it seemed Haineko herself had heard the threat. The ash particles slowly began to flow back towards Matsumoto, who closed her eyes shut as a tear streamed down her chin.

'_I'm sorry...Naruto.'_

"Leave me! Don't you dare take her!" Naruto growled when Toshirou pressed the blade harder against his neck, drawing a thin line of blood.

"If you utter another word, you're dead," the captain warned as Gin flash stepped to appear beside Kira- a wide smile on his face.

"Like hell I-" the blonde started when something hard hit the side of his neck as he felt his eyes roll into the back of his head, his body slumping into unconsciousness.

"That's enough," Teuchi spoke, now standing behind Naruto while holding Hitsugaya's blade in his hand- which was about to chop the blonde's neck off.

"He won't be interfering now," the Ichiraku uttered with a steeled expression as Toshirou nodded cautiously while sheathing back his zanpakutou. Turning his head, Teuchi's eyes softened upon seeing Rangiku staring at Naruto- tears cascading down her cheeks while Hitsugaya shunpo'ed back to his group.

'_This was bound to happen all along but...'_

WHOOSH!

"I need to talk to her for a moment."

SWISH!

Kira stood with a dumbfounded look on his face- that old shinigami had appeared in between them, taken Rangiku back near that unconscious blonde in just a fraction of a second.

"Mah, someone's real fast here," Gin muttered to himself in amusement.

Rangiku looked at Teuchi with a surprised look on her face as he stared back at her with a serious countenance.

"You knew that if they ever found you, you knew what the result would be right?" he questioned as she just lowered her head, gritting her teeth in frustration as she tried to stop the incoming fresh tears.

"I already did warn you Rangiku-san," Teuchi uttered in a low tone as she lifted her head to glance at an unconscious Naruto- currently being held by the six rods of energy.

"You should say your goodbye," he muttered as she slowly walked towards the one she had come to love deeply during the past month.

Her hand lifted to gently take his limp one in hers, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb lightly.

"Naruto..." she exhaled unsteadily, now standing in front of the unconscious blonde as she wiped her moist cheeks.

"I guess this is goodbye from me too," a weak teary smile on her face as she lifted her left arm to wipe the blood off his forehead with the hem of her shinigami garb. She closed her eyes as a choked sob escaped her lips- while wiping the thin line of blood tenderly off his chin and lower lip.

"I'm s-sorry..." Matsumoto muttered, her heart being crushed from inside as she opened her glossy eyes to stare at his relaxed features. Oh how she wished she could stare at his face like this forever- life was looking so great just an hour ago. She was looking forward to her upcoming days with him- to her spending the rest of her life with him. And when they had met a month ago, their trip together until now...

"_I'm not a kid lady! Show some respect here! It's Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo!"_

_"Yeah, Uzumaki Naruto. Who's the kid now...Rangiku-san?"_

"_Fuckudo no Sanjuichi: Suckkaho!"_

She laughed slightly at remembering that event- his first try at kido when he had become a shinigami.

"_D-Don't m-mess w-w-with me l-lady!"_

"_Oh hell! What time is it? Am I late for the academy?! I swear Iruka-sensei's gonna give it to me this time!"_

"_Hey! You can't drink while I'm here, have some manners!"_

_"H-HEYAHAHA! S-STOP, HAHHAHA! STOP TICKLING ME LADY! BUHAHAHAHA!"_

_"Then I'll simply face Oscuro as a shinobi. I have a high amount of reiryoku, I'll use that to my advantage and will learn kido. I'll become the first being to simultaneously use ninjutsu and kido! If I can't slice it with a zanpakutou...then I'll just beat it to a bloody pulp with my own fists! But I wouldn't let it harm anyone in MY village! If I want to be the hokage, I'll have to protect my village...be it by being a shinobi or a shinigami, I don't care! These spiritual energy reserves of mine are both a curse as well as a gift. So don't you try pulling me out of this, cause I'm as stuck in my decision as a stick up a Hyuga's ass!"_

_"Thanks Rangiku-chan!"_

_"Arigatou Rangiku-chan. I'm really glad I met you."_

"_I don't know what to do Rangiku-chan! How could she love someone like me?! I'm so confused! Please tell me what to do!"_

"_Whoa! You're even lighter than my twelve year body!"_

_"OH HOLY SHIT! THIS IS NOT A DREAM! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE THAT?!"_

_"No…not me, US. Me, you, Ayame-chan, jiji….everybody fought. All of us saved the village together."_

_"I...I really want you to stay with me...forever. When I heard from oji-san today that you would be leaving soon, I was shocked. Not from the fact that you would be leaving, but from the sudden realization that how much I wanted you to be in my life, that how my life was incomplete without you. This past month, with you, was the most awesome time of my life. I...I can't describe the amount of happiness I felt staying with you. I cherish every moment of it."_

Tears still escaped the confines of her closed eyelids as she quietly sobbed to herself.

_"But please, don't get angry at me. Don't get hurt...I never wanted to hurt you. Whatever I did, I'm sorry. You know I'm an idiot. Please don't cry...Rangiku-chan. I can't bear to see you in so much pain."_

"_I-I mean like, just take her out if she wants to you know. Not an official date, but just Ayame-chan enjoying herself. She would kill me if she even gets to know that it was a date! And anyway, you and me are together now right? I would never want to make you sad, I will go on dates with you only."_

"A-And look where we are now..." her lower lip trembling as she cupped his whiskered cheeks, affectionately tracing his whiskers.

"I k-know you'll b-be lonely...and feel sad, I'm sorry that I h-have to leave like Shiroi-chan. But, A-Ayame-chan is still there, she will...s-she will take care of you," another sob escaped her as she leaned her forehead against his, her eyes closed.

"Please find ha-happiness, don't think about us and get sad. Y-You always think about o-others before yourself...I w-wish I could stay with you l-longer, but this is it. Eat proper food, not only ramen...you're still such a kid s-sometimes. Wh-What am I babbling about? Y-You still are a twelve year old child after all," Rangiku bit her lower lip tightly as more tears fell off her chin, her nose touching his.

"Th-Thank you for loving me, I love you...Naruto-kun. Always be happy, be-become Hokage...show everyone h-how much of a great person you are. Never g-give up...a-and become a great shinigami too. Sayonara...Naruto, I love you very much," leaning forward, she claimed his lips, kissing him with all the passion she could muster for the boy she had fallen head over heels in just a month.

* * *

><p><strong>An Hour Later: Ichiraku's Apartment<strong>

* * *

><p>"Tou-san, why didn't you tell me?" Ayame asked with hurt evident in her eyes as she stared at her father's back.<p>

"There was no use Ayame-chan, this was inevitable," Teuchi uttered with a serious expression, currently staring outwards through the window.

"But Rangiku-chan...and Naruto-kun," she spoke while staring at the blonde whose head was resting in her lap as she sat on the couch.

"You know as well Ayame-chan that Soul Society can't interfere in our matters, the same goes for us. We would have been punished severely if we did interfere, and Naruto and Rangiku-san already knew this."

"So that's it? We are going to let her die just like that? And what about Naruto-kun?! You think he'll just sit by and let this happen?!" she argued loudly when the blonde began to stir.

"Naruto-kun, you okay?" she spoke in a concerned voice, herself looking ill as he opened his eyes slowly. His hazy oceanic orbs slowly widened as memories of the moments before he lost conscious came rushing back to him.

"Rangiku-chan!" he exclaimed, sitting up abruptly as the blonde scanned his surroundings.

"Where..." the blonde trailed as his eyes landed on Teuchi, instantly understanding what had happened.

"They took her away didn't they?" he muttered, his face getting lowered as no one spoke while Ayame was looking at him worriedly.

"Why did you knock me out? To save me? Why?" his fist on his thigh began to tremble as he gritted his teeth.

"I couldn't stop them...another precious person of mine," his body began to shake when Ayame put a hand on his shoulder gently.

"Naruto-kun, please calm down..." he took a deep breath to calm himself when Teuchi stepped forward.

"I didn't stop you from fighting them, because I knew you won't stop until either they killed you...or you killed them. And them killing you, that I couldn't let happen. Her execution is most probably going to be scheduled ten days from now, so...what's your plan?" he asked as the blonde just shook his head, still not lifting his face while Ayame rubbed his shoulder in comfort.

"I...I don't know," he sighed out, his voice choked out as the elder Ichiraku narrowed his eyes.

"I let her say her goodbye to you."

The blonde stayed quiet as Teuchi further spoke.

"She was crying Naruto. Her eyes were reflecting so much pain...it was like staring into your eyes when you were a child- full of sadness and vulnerability. She said thanks, a thank you for loving her. She asked you to stay happy...for you to follow your dream, to become Hokage. She said that you have Ayame, that she will take care of you. She said that she wished she could stay longer with you, no...spend the rest of her life with you...she...kissed you, it was probably her last kiss. She asked for forgiveness, forgiveness for leaving you just like Shiroi-chan," he uttered as Ayame began to cry softly while Naruto kept his head down.

"Soul Society has a strong defence, with thirteen captains leading its military power. What can you do now?" the elder Ichiraku asked with a grim countenance as the blonde tightly clutched the black fabric on his thigh.

"Can you take me there...oji-san?" his voice was low as Ayame looked at him in surprise while Teuchi smirked at the whiskered blonde.

"I hoped this day would never come. But just in case, I had already done the preparations. It's strange, here in our territory, we couldn't do anything against them...but in there, an unofficial shinigami doesn't need to follow any rules, now does he?"

"Saying thank you for loving her, who does she think she is? Does she think she can escape from Uzumaki Naruto that easily?"

Naruto lifted his head to stare at Teuchi with a smirk, tears in his eyes as he nodded at the old ramen chef.

"Let's do it, let's bring her back!"

* * *

><p><strong>Well, hope you liked this chapter...or not. Just keep in mind this arc will be a lot different than the one in Bleach, which you can most probably guess by now anyway. Also Naruto and his group will be meeting with Ichigo and Co. in Seireitei, just something for you guys to look up to. :)<strong>

**Please review, I need to know if you like where this going, or rather- HOW this is going where it is going. :D**

**Thanks for the reviews and your support! XD**

**N6023**


	24. Enter! The Soul Society Arc!

**FINALLY! **

**Damn this chapter took a WHILE! Really sorry for keeping you guys waiting, but I'll just say that I'd lost my muse for over a month and wasn't able to write anything. And that's it for my excuse.**

**Anyway, moving on. I've seen several authors include soundtracks in their fics to make the scenes more interesting, and fun to read. I even received a PM from 'SeabeeGR' on this topic. I tried this while writing my scenes, and really found it to be effective, it makes the fucking AWESOME! So I'll start doing it right away from this chapter! It will mainly be OSTs though, since I find them alone to be pretty badass. :D**

**Now let's get on with the chapter! -**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24- Enter! The Soul Society Arc!<strong>

* * *

><p>"Can you take me there...oji-san?" his voice was low as Ayame looked at him in surprise while Teuchi smirked at the whiskered blonde.<p>

"I hoped this day would never come. But just in case, I had already done the preparations. It's strange, here in our territory, we couldn't do anything against them...but in there, an unofficial shinigami doesn't need to follow any rules, now does he?"

"Saying thank you for loving her, who does she think she is? Does she think she can escape from Uzumaki Naruto that easily?"

Naruto lifted his head to stare at Teuchi with a smirk, tears in his eyes as he nodded at the old ramen chef.

"Let's do it, let's bring her back!" the blonde exclaimed, his eyes blazing with determination while Ayame looked at him in surprise.

"Naruto-kun..." she muttered, putting her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You do know that you're going against the Gotei 13 right?" she asked with a worried look on her face. Naruto gripped his thighs tighter as a sigh escaped his lips.

**(Clannad OST- Roaring Tides)**

"I won't say that I'm not scared. I won't claim that I will defeat any captain or vice captain that gets in my way. But the thing is..." the blonde closed his eyes as images of him laughing with Rangiku flashed in the darkness.

"...I can't forget the time we spent with each other. Shiroi-chan had her memories wiped out when she left, I could bear that. But Rangiku-chan, the fact that she remembers all the moments we shared with each other, and that she is suffering emotionally right now...I will never forgive myself if I let her be like this," he released a shaky breath before lifting his face, opening his eyes to stare into Ayame's brown orbs.

"She had made her decision, she wanted to stay here, with me, in my shabby apartment. She didn't call me a demon, she never glared at me, her eyes always held warmth for me. She didn't want this...Rangiku-chan doesn't deserve this," standing up, he grabbed his zanpakutou while Ayame kept staring at him, her heart getting swept away by the intensity of his feelings.

"If I had to face a force ten times stronger than Gotei 13, I would go even then! It's not me being reckless, it's not me being desperate, it's my resolve!'' he growled, clenching Hyakurai tightly while Teuchi gazed at him with a serious expression.

Silence filled the room as Ayame lowered her head, her hand clutching the fabric over her heart.

'_He really loves you...Rangiku-chan.' _

A pearly drop slid down her cheek, falling onto her lap as she exhaled unsteadily.

"R-Right..." sniffing lightly, she quickly wiped her cheek before lifting her head while Naruto looked at her.

"We'll definitely save her!" she grinned lightly, her eyes closed while Teuchi gazed at her wet eyelashes- a pained look in his eyes. Naruto however turned around in surprise before his expression turned serious.

"I'm the only one going Ayame-chan. You just recovered from your illness," he claimed firmly while Teuchi sighed. Her grin immediately faded as she frowned at the boy she loved with all of her heart.

"I'm going Naruto-kun, and this is final. You don't have to worry about my illness, I've healed completely," she retorted with equal sternness as he narrowed his eyes, frustration getting the better of him.

"This is not a joke Ayame-chan! We'll be going against the whole of Seireitei! Stop the fake tough act!" he exclaimed when anger flashed in her eyes as she stood abruptly.

"Act you say?! Let me tell you that Rangiku-chan was my friend too! Besides you need me, I'm a healer! Stop your childishness!"

"Childishness?! With what I've endured, you of all people should know best dammit!" his voice got louder as he yelled at her while she glared at him.

"You can't do everything on your own Naruto-kun! By doing that, you're hurting us too! Why don't you understand?!" she yelled back, getting closer to him as her eyes went glossy.

"Goddamn it Ayame-chan! You were always there for me but there are things I need to do on my own!" their faces inches away as he waved his hand violently. Ayame clenched her eyes shut as she shouted.

"Yeah well, I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU BECAUSE I L.."

POOF!

(**OST Ends)**

The rest of what she said went unheard as someone arrived via shunshin.

"Hey what happened?! I just woke up to find Rangiku-chan's reiatsu no longer present, it just vanished!"

…

Silence stretched in the room as Anko blinked, staring at Naruto's back who took a deep breath before turning to her.

"Um, what are you doing here?" the purple haired kunoichi questioned Naruto in confusion when Ayame turned around to rush to her room, wiping her cheeks in the process.

Teuchi sighed as he massaged his temples.

"Yes, certain things...have happened."

* * *

><p><strong>Hokage's Monument: Several Minutes Later<strong>

* * *

><p>Naruto sat on the concrete head of the yondaime hokage, a solemn look on his face as his gaze swept over the quiet village. His spiky blonde locks ruffled with the wind, the jinchuuriki currently in his original body- his head resting on his propped up knees.<p>

He just seemed to be staring blankly into space, his eyes slightly glossy- due to the moonlight's reflection, as well as some moisture. Flashes of his time spent together with Rangiku and Shiroi speeding through his head like a long series of camera clicks. He couldn't believe it, two people...two people who were extremely close to him, just vanished from his life altogether- like a dream shattered, like a wish unfulfilled.

**(Naruto OST- 'Hokage Funeral Theme' by Toshiro Masuda)**

"_I love you Naruto-kun, and always will"- _were Shiroi's final words to him when she left the living world that night.

"_She was crying Naruto. Her eyes were reflecting so much pain...it was like staring into your eyes when you were a child- full of sadness and vulnerability. She said thanks, a thank you for loving her. She asked you to stay happy...for you to follow your dream, to become Hokage. She said that you have Ayame, that she will take care of you. She said that she wished she could stay longer with you, no...spend the rest of her life with you...she...kissed you, it was probably her last kiss. She asked for forgiveness, forgiveness for leaving you just like Shiroi-chan"_-he was unconscious when Rangiku left, but the words Teuchi spoke regarding her...just felt like something she would say.

Honestly, he didn't know what to feel. He was confused, not knowing what to feel. Maybe he was feeling what he should be feeling, but rather not realizing what it was? Whatever it was, it felt like something was drilling through his heart, twisting it completely and squashing it mercilessly. His chest felt heavy, his throat felt constricted and dry, his eyelids heavy, his oceanic blue orbs wet- signifying the metaphor.

The blonde sniffed lightly as he wiped his eyes lazily with his small hands, his shoulders slumped. He just had a rather nasty argument with Ayame, and Teuchi right now was explaining stuff to Anko...and Kurenai, who for some odd reason had also barged in, demanding the absence of Rangiku's reiatsu. It surprised him that Anko and Kurenai were able to sense Matsumoto's spiritual pressure, but that was something that occupied a very small part of his mind.

He again felt lonely, he again felt burdened, tired and for the first time- full of responsibilities. Rangiku was his responsibility, and he had to bring her back- to where she had decided to live.

Naruto again felt like the little child he was years ago, before meeting Shiroi- alone. Of course Ayame and Teuchi had taken care of him since the beginning, still he was alone most of the time all those years ago. After having Rangiku taken away from him, he was now realizing- in just a matter of few hours, as to how empty his life was without her. Shiroi's departure had affected him in a big way, but Rangiku was there to support him back then. She was always there for him, helping him go through it. She always had that special smile for him.

'_Strange...I just thought of her as another woman in the beginning, someone who liked to use her charms on men, often flirting and then possibly...bedding them to satisfy herself,'_ he felt guilty for thinking like that at that time, usually he was not one to judge someone. But with having to stay on his guard for most of his life, it was just a force of habit.

'_I was so wrong about her,'_ he thought with a slight shake of his head, missing her terribly.

Naruto snapped back his head back upon feeling a reiatsu signature appear suddenly behind him. The blonde stared at the black hooded figure in surprise.

The guardian shinigami did not say anything as he sat beside the jinchuuriki a bit lazily. He continued to stare at the secondary in-command shinigami of Konoha in confusion.

"You are called the child of prophecy, a term you were labelled with since before you were born- a burden you had to carry since the beginning. You don't need to narrow your eyes at me, I'm not here to pity you...or your condition," the guardian uttered as he kept gazing over the village while Naruto just turned back to stare at the stars.

"I would pity you, if I honestly believed that you weren't strong enough to handle the burden that is," the hooded shinigami paused making the blonde look at him in surprise again.

"I've seen your strength, the strength in your heart. I've noticed the look in your eyes. I've observed your body language, the way you hold your zanpakutou when you fight. You fought to defend the village that night, you did well against those Uchiha hollows, and you gave your all against those captains and vice captain tonight. Normally it would've been against the rules if you were working for the Spirit Society, but seeing as you are an unofficial shinigami right now...it doesn't matter. You did what you had to do at that time. I think..." he trailed before turning slightly to Naruto, who was staring at him, transfixed at what he was saying.

"...that fate chose wisely. You are indeed, the child of prophecy. We can safely depend on you. You're a pretty hardcore character kid. Just do what you gotta do. Right now, it doesn't matter whether what you do is right or wrong, what matters is that you choose to do something. Because whatever you do, it's bound to affect everyone, and it depends on you if that impact is positive or negative."

Naruto continued to stare at the hooded shinigami with wide eyes, not knowing what to say when he felt the guardian's hand on his head.

"As far as I've seen you, I think I can safely say that I have faith in you, Uzumaki Naruto," he gently ruffled the jinchuriki's hair before standing up.

"Well, I'll leave you to your thoughts then. Have a nice trip."

...

...

"And wipe those tears. They look pathetic on you. You're a shinobi, as well as a shinigami...both professions prohibit such behaviour," he articulated before blurring out via shunpo.

**(OST Ends)**

Naruto exhaled unsteadily as he wiped his cheeks with the sleeves of his orange jumpsuit, nodding to himself.

"Right."

* * *

><p><strong>Next Day: Ichiraku's Apartment: Underground Chamber<strong>

* * *

><p>Teuchi stood in front of his and Kisuke's creation with a proud look on his face- the <strong>Tenkai Ketchu <strong>(World-Shifting Binding-Posts). Four massive pillars stood in a square, a rip slowly opening in the space between them.

SWISH!

"Is it done oji-san?" Naruto asked, an anxious look in his eyes as he stood beside the ramen chef in his shinigami form.

"Yes. You said you wanted to go in your real body right? Well I have a solution to that problem, since you would also need your replicated soul with a body to fill for you in team seven while you're gone," Teuchi uttered when Ayame appeared with Naruto's real body. The blonde glanced at her as she handed over his body to her father.

"Why's there a lump on the forehead of your body?" Teuchi questioned with a perplexed countenance making the blonde shinigami blush in embarrassment while Ayame sighed in exasperation.

"Naruto-kun just threw his body carelessly on the couch on his way here. Unfortunately, his body bounced off the couch for his head to crash on the flower pot, breaking it," an amused look in her eyes while Teuchi just sighed at the jinchuuriki's antics.

"Anyway, where's your soul replicating pill?" he asked making Naruto raise his eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah...it should be here," walking forward, he began to search the pockets of his orange jacket, before taking out the green pill.

"Here."

"Now give it to your body...something you should've done before coming here," Teuchi muttered the last part while Naruto chuckled in nervousness as he fed the pill to his limp body.

The teen Naruto's eyes opened while Teuchi set him on the ground.

"Huh? Oh..." the replicated soul uttered while the elder Ichiraku turned to his daughter, who nodded before giving him a blue coloured pill.

"This...is a material replicating pill. Here, eat it," Teuchi explained as he gave the pill to the replicated soul of Naruto.

The teen gulped down the pill.

"Now enter your body Naruto," Teuchi spoke making the shinigami look at him in surprise.

"What? But my replicated soul is still..."

"Just do as I say," the blonde shrugged before walking towards his body. His eyes widened when he felt the usual pull into his body.

Ayame and Teuchi watched as he entered his body, before an exact copy of his body began to separate itself from his original body.

"W-Whoa..." Naruto, now in a replicated boy, muttered in wonder as he examined his new replicated gigai.

"Hey, it looks exactly like our original one," the replicated Naruto spoke while staring at the copied body.

"As you can see, this pill replicates anyone who consumes it. Basically, it analyses the physical structure of a body, and creates a faux body within seconds. You can say that the soul replicating pill and material replicating pill work hand in hand. Now your replicated soul, with your original body can stay here and do your regular ninja duties with team 7 while you, in a disposable faux body, can use chakra if the need arises," the elder Ichiraku articulated making him nod as he continued to check his new body.

"Well I guess I should get going. It won't do good if I out do Kakashi-sensei in getting lost on the road of life," the replicated Naruto verbalized with a sigh as he turned around, before waving lazily at his real self.

"We're maybe the same, but I guess a good luck won't harm anything. Go kick some ass, and bring Rangiku-chan back," Naruto watched as his clone soul swiftly left the arena.

"Naruto..." the jinchuuriki turned to Teuchi, who had a serious expression on his face.

"Here...take this with you," Naruto looked in confusion as he was offered a long, lustrous violet ribbon.

"A ribbon?" he questioned making the Ichiraku nod.

"Yes, tie it around the hilt of your zanpakutou," Teuchi worded making the blonde look at the ribbon as he just shrugged. Getting out of his new gigai, and grabbing the hilt of Hyakurai, he tied the violet ribbon- also noticing, and realizing that there was already a violet ribbon wrapped around the hilt. It was something that was a part of his zanpakutou since he obtained it- more like being attached to his soul slayer rather than just being wrapped around it.

"Funny, there's an exact identical ribbon here," Naruto muttered to himself while Teuchi had his arms crossed across his chest.

"When you're in an emergency situation, slice the ribbon I just gave you into two. Remember, slice the ribbon I just gave to you, not the one already on your zanpakutou...got that?" the Ichiraku spoke with a grim look on his face while the blonde nodded back before returning to his faux body.

"And when I say emergency situation, I mean the one that includes life and death- especially in your case. Remember this Naruto, and take what I'm saying seriously. Don't use this carelessly," judging by the grave countenance on the ramen chef, Naruto knew this was something extremely dangerous.

"Got it oji-san. Well I-"

"Well, I will be going now Otou-san. See you later, and take care of yourself," Ayame bowed to Teuchi as she started to walk towards the opened portal, currently in her shinigami form.

Naruto's left eyebrow began to twitch as he watched Ayame walking towards the portal.

"Ayame-chan I told you that only I'm going!" he exclaimed while she just kept walking, ignoring him as a vein throbbed on his forehead.

"I'M TALKING TO YOU DAMMIT!" he screamed comically when Teuchi spoke from behind him.

"It's no use, she's wearing ear plugs," this made the blonde's face go red in anger as he began to stomp towards her while the elder Ichiraku turned towards his daughter.

"Oh and Ayame-chan..." he called as she instantly turned around.

"Hai Tou-san?"

"ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME OLD MAN?!" Naruto yelled using the 'big head no jutsu' as the duo just ignored him.

"Wait, let them come too. I have to explain to them too," Teuchi said making her nod when...

POOF!

"And we're here fellas!" Anko had an ear splitting grin on her face.

"For the last time Anko-chan, we're not going on a party. This is serious," Kurenai had a grim look on her face as she stood beside the purple haired kunoichi- both in their usual 'on-duty' gear.

"Oh no...don't tell me that you two are coming too!" Naruto had a freaked out look on his face as he clutched his spiky bangs in frustration.

"So Teuchi-san, are we ready to launch off our 'Rescue Rangiku-chan' operation or what?!" Anko asked with glee as she cracked her knuckles while Kurenai sighed at her friend's antics whereas the elder Ichiraku nodded seriously.

"Hey are you listening to me?! This is not a joke guys! Snap out of it!" Naruto shouted in frustration.

"YOSH!" Anko exclaimed in excitement as she stretched her arms while she and Kurenai walked towards Ayame, who was standing in front of the portal.

"Naruto, it's no use. They too are using ear plugs," Teuchi voiced with a fake sad sigh.

"THIS BULLSHIT IS GETTING LAME OJI-SAN!" the jinchuuriki screamed while pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Now listen you two," Teuchi called towards Anko and Kurenai making them face him.

"I've integrated **Reishi Henkanki **(Spirit Exchangers) with this senkaimon, it will help convert your **kishi **(physical particles) into reishi temporarily, as you'll be passing through Dangai. But do keep in mind that this conversion works for about four minutes, so you have to exit Dangai and reach Soul Society within that time period. Got it?" he explained as they nodded along with Naruto.

"Let's go then, Ayame-san," Kurenai articulated making Naruto snap his head towards them. Before he could speak anything, he felt yellow spiritual ropes wrap around him- immobilising him.

"Hai, let's go," Ayame uttered, holding the other end of the rope.

"H-Hey! What the hell are you doing?! Untie me!" he exclaimed as she nodded at Teuchi one last time before the trio jumped in, dragging the blonde jinchuuriki with them- his screams echoing throughout the arena before being engulfed by the portal.

The elder Ichiraku kept staring at the portal when Hiruzen shunshin'ed to appear beside him.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" the concerned Hokage asked.

"It all depends on him Hiruzen-san, but I have faith in him, Ayame as well," he murmured making the sandaime glance at him in bewilderment.

"Ayame-chan?"

"Hai, it's dangerous for her too. But she was so dead set on going with Naruto, I couldn't change her mind. As a father, the least I can do is put my faith in her. She is strong, I'm sure she can keep an eye on Naruto. They both need each other in this," Teuchi verbalized as Sarutobi nodded with him.

"You think he knows?" the Hokage asked after several seconds of silence making him nod.

"He definitely suspects that we're hiding things from him. But so much has happened these past days that he couldn't confront me on it. He will find it eventually, whether I tell him or not. I just hope...he's strong enough," Hiruzen smiled as he adjusted his hat.

"He's strong alright. We have been observing since he was little, you know what he's capable of. Naruto...is not an ordinary boy. And I trust Ayame-chan too, she has a strong spirit, she'll take care of him. And I think you can rely on Naruto for looking after your daughter too right?" a smirk on his face making the ramen chef chuckle.

"Yeah, that we all know of. He can be overprotective when it comes to Ayame, the same for her. They'll be fine."

"Besides, Anko and Kurenai are tagging along. I was surprised when they volunteered without any second thoughts. They seem to have awakened their fullbringers too," Hiruzen spoke with a sigh as Teuchi turned around while the portal had closed in front of him.

"I told you earlier, I had already detected traces of hollow reiryoku when I examined her curse mark all those years ago. I told you that Orochimaru was using hollow's spiritual energy in his curse marks. But you refused to believe me back then," Sarutobi lowered his head while the Ichiraku began to walk towards the exit.

"As for Kurenai, it didn't surprise me. Her mother being attacked by a hollow before she was born, and with her staying near a powerhouse such as Naruto, it was inevitable."

The Hokage lifted his head as he lowered his hat, before puffing out with one last thought in his mind.

'_I hope you can forgive us Naruto, but we tried our best, to make your life better. Ayame, Shiroi and Rangiku, we know are the best things to happen to you, but to keep them close- it depends on your own strength. Minato, your son will eventually be considered a hero, not only in this village, but in all the dimensions. I won't let your last wish go unfulfilled.'_

* * *

><p><strong>Dangai- Unknown Sector<strong>

* * *

><p>"Huh? So this is Dangai?" an orange haired teen wondered loudly, a black cat riding on his shoulder.<p>

"Hai, we have to hurry though, remember that we have limited time to leave the parsing world," the cat spoke.

"The walls look like bean paste, only black this time. Strange..." a teen with auburn hair wondered to herself with an innocent look on her face leading to another teen, having straight chin-length raven hair with white clothes- sweat drop at her observation.

"We should hurry," a dark skinned man, with a muscular build uttered, his hair oddly covering his eyes.

"Ikuzo Ichigo!" the cat exclaimed as the orange haired teen nodded before he started to sprint forward in the dark canal. The others swiftly followed him as they darted towards the dot-like source of light in front of them.

"Is that our destination Yoruichi-sa-"

BHAM!

A blurred orange figure slammed into Ichigo, their heads colliding as the duo fell to the dark floor- the cat having jumped off just before the impact.

"Kurosaki-kun! Are you alright?!" the auburn haired teen ran towards a groaning Ichigo while the orange wearing blonde was cursing a particular someone.

"Kuso! I'm so gonna kill you...damn crazy snake lady!"

"Uh...I'm really sorry Naruto-kun," Ayame rushed to his side, pulling his head into his lap as she began to apply to green healing reiryoku onto his bruised forehead.

Holding his wounded forehead, Ichigo stood up with a pained expression as he glared at the offending blonde comfortably lying in the lap of a girl.

"Dammit watch where you're going squirt!" he exclaimed when two more women arrived through the newly opened portal- one of them laughing heartily.

"You shouldn't have done that Anko-chan, that could have injured him pretty seriously," Kurenai spoke in a reprimanding tone while the purple haired kunoichi just waved her off.

"Oh c'mon! I was tired of his whining. You have to say it was funny to see him sailing through the rip...hehehe!" Anko chuckled to herself when she noticed the crowd that had formed in this so called 'Dangai' place.

"Eh?" Orihime tilted her confusion as she stared back at the newly arrived strangers when Naruto jumped off Ayame- the 'Hainawa' ropes now undone by her while there was a furious look on the blonde's face.

"Don't do that ever again you nincompoop!" a frustrated expression on his face when he heard someone burst into fits of giggles, her voice childish and sweet.

"Ahahahaha, nincompoop...it's such a funny word!" Orihime laughed while wiping the tears from her eyes as Ishida looked at her strangely, along with Ichigo, Anko and Kurenai.

"What's with her'ttebayo?" Naruto asked to no one in particular when a cat jumped to land on his shoulder.

"Yeah...she's just, one of those people who keep it light," it's voice amused as the blonde turned to her, momentary surprise crossing his eyes before being replaced with confusion.

"What's a talking cat doing here?" he poked the cat on its cheek.

"THAT'S A COMPLETELY UNDERRATED REACTION!" Ichigo and Ishida yelled collectively as the jinchuuriki turned to them, blinking at their freaked out expressions.

"Hey look at this Ayame-chan, it looks like a summon. What do you think it is doing here in this world?" he turned to her as she walked to examine the cat, Anko and Kurenai doing the same. Yoruichi however was surprised at his reaction, most of the normal people would be looking at her in horror by now.

'_They must be the ones Kisuke informed me about.'_

"Well, my name is Yoruichi," the cat said as Naruto held her gently with Anko, Kurenai along with Ayame observing her.

"I don't see any village symbol here, it could be that this cat just lost its way here or somethin'," Anko muttered with a thoughtful look on her face with Kurenai nodding at her.

"Poor cat, it must be lonely for her here," Ayame muttered.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" Ichigo and Ishida shouted comically again, kinda freaked out that these people were taking a talking cat so leisurely. An embarrassed blush took birth on the duo's faces when they remembered their own reaction against the whole 'talking cat' thing.

"Kyaah!" everyone turned their heads upon hearing a surprised scream to see Orihime's left foot being engulfed by a rubbery extension of the black wall.

"Inoue!" Sado, Ichigo and Ishida ran towards her struggling form.

'_Shit! The __**Kouryuu **__(Wresting Flow) is acting up! We have to get out of here fast!'_ Yoruichi and Ayame thought simultaneously.

Drawing out Zangetsu, Ichigo slashed at the slimy substance- cutting it, and effectively freeing Orihime as she took a few steps forward, finding herself not being able to get rid of the remaining sticky substance on her foot.

"Shit!" the orange haired shinigami cursed when he found his wrist being held by the wall.

"Dammit don't move Kurosaki, I can't take proper aim if you continue to struggle!" Ishida exclaimed, trying to take an aim- having summoned his **Sanrei Shutou **(Spirit Scattering Hand Envelope) bow - **Kojaku **(Arc Sparrow).

Sado had his iron grip on Ichigo, preventing him from being pulled into the walls.

"Get aside!" Ishida and Sado turned for their eyes to widen as Naruto dashed at far quicker speeds than it should be possible for a young teen like him. Twirling a kunai around his index finger, the blonde jumped acrobatically over Ichigo to slice off the tendril-like extension from the wall.

"Go!" the jinchuuriki yelled as they look at him with dumbstruck looks on their faces. They, however were snapped out of their reveries when an intense yellowish light appeared out of nowhere- bathing over their forms followed by a train siren.

"RUN! It's the **Kotoutsu! **(Wresting Surge)" Ayame shouted as she began to dash towards the exit, swiftly followed by others. Noticing that Orihime was unable to move, Anko blurred towards her as she slung the auburn haired teen over her right shoulder.

"Aww dammit!" Naruto exclaimed as he whizzed forward with a burst of chakra, running as fast as he could by pushing chakra beneath his feet.

Ichigo and Ishida's eyes widened when an orange blur shot past them.

"How the hell is that kid able to move that fast?!" Kurosaki exclaimed in surprise as they continued to sprint when three more blurry figures- Kurenai, Anko and Ayame, overtook them. Inoue had an embarrassed blush on her face- currently being carried by Anko, who was sporting a concentrated look as the train chased them.

'_Them too?! How can they move this fast?'_ Ishida thought as the distance between them and Naruto's group increased when he noticed Yoruichi sitting on Naruto's shoulder.

"Oh, so you tagged along Neko-chan? Well you don't have to be scared, Uzumaki Naruto's gonna save you!" he exclaimed with a grin when Yoruichi went stiff at hearing his name.

"We're almost there!" Kurenai exclaimed while Ayame warned them.

"Just keep running, and don't even think of destroying the Kotoutsu, or even attacking it!" her eyes narrowed as they neared the exit.

"Hah! Hah! Hah! This is crazy! Where are those black butterflies dammit?!" Ichigo screamed as he ran for his life along with Ishida and Sado- who were at the last of the group.

Seeing the exit few meters away from him, Naruto leaped forward with a blast of chakra followed by Ayame, Kurenai and Anko- and then finally Ichigo, Ishida and Sado.

* * *

><p><strong>Soul Society: Western Rukongai<strong>

* * *

><p>"GAAAH!"<p>

WHAM!

THUD!

PHOOSH!

"Owiee..." Orihime groaned, her painful moan getting mixed in with the groans from the rest of the group as they found themselves floating flat on water.

"Uh...where are we?" Naruto questioned as he lifted his head to observe his surroundings. Yoruichi was sitting on his head with an amused look in her eyes- already aware of the place they had crashed into.

Naruto's face soon burst into a screaming blush as he found himself looking at several naked women, staring at their newly arrived group with horror-struck expressions on their faces.

"PHUU! That damn Urahara! I'm so going to kick his ass when we get back! He didn't warn us about the rough landing!" Ichigo exclaimed after spraying a jet of water from his mouth and nose, currently trying to get the water out of his ear.

"Um...Kurosaki?" he turned to notice Ishida having a tomato red face. Sado too refused to lift his head- his face already submerged in the water till just his nostrils.

"Huh? What's wrong wi-th...y-o-uuua..." his mouth remained open, now looking at what could be collectively described as 'heaven' by Jiraiya and Kon.

Anko and Kurenai both had nervous expressions on their faces, along with Ayame of course while a blushing Orihime just drowned herself back into the water- too embarrassed to come back out.

…

…

"Oh...it's just a hot spring."

…

"And we managed to land in it in the middle of the day."

…

"In the women's side dattebayo."

A few seconds passed as the outsiders gathered around the place- wondering as to what had landed so violently there.

…

…

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

WHOM!

"WHOA LADY TAKE IT EASY! WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR VIRGINITY!"

"PERVERTS!"

"HEY WHAT THE HELL'TTEBAYO!"

THUK!

"RUN KUROSAKI!"

"YOU ASSHOLES! GET OUT OF HERE!"

BHASH!

The wooden fence was destroyed abruptly as Naruto came jumping out, a lacy bra hanging by his ear as he ran for his life- Yoruichi still on his head as she shook the water off her fur.

"THIS IS GETTING CRAZY DAMMIT! I'M OUTTA HERE!" he jumped to the rooftops using chakra while Ichigo and the rest too promptly came barging out of the hot springs.

"YOU BITCH! LIKE HELL I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN YOU! WHO DO YOU THINK I AM, LESBIAN?!" this time it was Anko being carried by Orihime, slumped over her shoulder as she threatened the chasing women with fire in her eyes.

"I don't like this! Why are they chasing us?!" Inoue whimpered comically, tears escaping her closed eyes as she ran away from the furious group of women.

"Where did that blonde kid go?! Yoruichi-san was with him wasn't he?!" Ichigo exclaimed as he looked for Naruto when he spotted the jinchuuriki waving at him from the roof several buildings away.

"Over here strawberry! Hurry up!"

A vein popped on Kurosaki's forehead as he glared at the whiskered blonde.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING STRAWBERRY?!"

* * *

><p><strong>Several Minutes Later: Outskirts of Rukongai<strong>

* * *

><p>The group stood panting as they took in deep puffs of air to catch their breaths- more like it was something only Orihime, Ishida and Sado were doing.<p>

"W-What the hell was that? Man I swear the afterlife seems to get crazier and shittier the deeper you get into it!" Ichigo panted.

"I agree with ya! That was some crazy shit back there'ttebayo!" Naruto cursed while Ayame had an exasperated look on her face- currently rubbing her forehead.

"Mattaku! Why can't things ever be normal with you Naruto-kun?" she exclaimed while Kurenai was busy in trying to dry her hair, along with Orihime.

"Anyway, are you the ones sent by Ichiraku Teuchi?" Yoruichi questioned as Naruto went serious at that.

"Not him, I came here of my own free will. So did the others with me. Who are you guys by the way? Not from Soul Society I'm sure by now," the blonde uttered seriously when Ichigo stepped forward.

"We can ask you the same thing," he spoke with his usual scowl in place making the blonde narrow his eyes at him.

"Does it ring any bells when I say we know Urahara Kisuke?" Yoruichi worded making the jinchuuriki glance at her- currently sitting on his shoulder.

"Oh, so you know Urahara-san neko-chan?" he asked making the cat stare at him, amused by the childish innocence on his face as he called her 'neko-chan'.

"Wait, let me handle that," Anko said after observing Inoue struggling to get the piece of Kouryou off her foot, which had stuck to her, back in the Dangai.

"Matte, you can't slice it Anko-chan. Use fire to get rid of it, it's just like a leech, feeding on reiryoku to grow itself," Ayame warned making the purple haired kunoichi nod as she bent just in front of a confused Orihime.

Ishida adjusted his glasses, his eyes closed.

"Does anyone have a lighter or something? I don't see any source of fire here," he spoke sophisticatedly as Anko went through a few hand seals. Ichigo just sighed in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah you're right. Damn, we have to find a smoker or something. I knew I should've learned Kido fro-"

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu! **(Fire Release: Fireball Technique)" putting low amount of chakra in the technique, Anko released a gentle stream of fire from her mouth- attacking the slimy piece of Kouryou on Orihime's foot, who winced in pain due to the heat.

"There...all done!" the snake user grinned as she patted Inoue's reddish ankle, who was staring at him with wide ghostly eyes- her face getting paler by the second.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Anko asked in confusion as she turned to others, only to find Ichigo and Ishida's jaws having slammed into the ground- their eyes bulging out in horror.

"Sh-She's...s-she just, sp-spit f-fire from her mouth!" the orange haired shinigami exclaimed with a freaked out look on his face.

"A t-trick...she must be some sort of magician. That was in no way a kido..." Uryu verbalized, trying to get over his shock while Naruto grinned in amusement.

"Hehe, it's just like with Rangiku-chan. I think they are from the other human world, same as Urahara-san. They don't know how to utilize chakra, just like civilians in our dimension," he explained to Anko as Ichigo and others looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean the other world? Are you implying that another dimension exists, where humans like us live?" Sado intervened calmly.

"Yes, you can say that. We combine our spiritual energy and physical in balanced amounts to create a new type of energy, called chakra. It's something that allows us to do supernatural feats, which would be impossible for normal humans," Kurenai explained, her arms folded over her chest as Naruto nodded with her.

"That's right, we're ninja!" he exclaimed with a grin as Ichigo and Ishida looked at each other.

"BUHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"THEY SAY THEY'RE NINJA AHAHAHA!"

Naruto and others stared while the two patted each on the shoulder as they wiped the tears from their eyes before yelling at him with shark-like teeth.

"BULLSHIT!"

Kurenai sighed as she went through a few hand seals.

"Well let's give you a taste then," she muttered when Ichigo and Ishida froze.

…

…

"GAH! PHU! PHU! THU!" both of them began to gag and spit, their face green as if they were about to throw up as they turned to opposite directions, before turning to each other- grabbing each other's collars.

"HOW DARE YOU SMOOCH ME YA FAG?!"

Naruto and Anko burst out laughing, with Ayame giggling as the duo seethed at each other.

"Relax, it was just an illusion that I trapped you in, making you think whatever happened in it was real," Kurenai spoke in amusement while the blonde held his stomach as he continued laughing.

"Ahahaha! That must've felt real huh?!" he snickered to himself while Ichigo and Ishida found themselves flushed, embarrassed by the whole fiasco.

"Um...she's saying the truth Kurosaki-kun. I didn't see you two kiss," Inoue spoke with a blush of her own, holding her left ankle.

"Let me take care of that," Ayame articulated as she walked to Orihime- healing her slightly burned ankle.

"A-Arigatou...but I could've done that on my own," Inoue smiled in appreciation making the Ichiraku look at her in confusion.

"Oh? So you know healing kido?" she questioned curiously as the auburn haired girl just shook her head.

"No, it's someth-"

"Inoue," Ichigo glared at Orihime with a stern look on his face when Yoruichi intervened.

"Relax Ichigo, we can trust them. We'll be joining sides in our mission, after all...they came for a similar purpose."

"Urahara-san told you Neko-chan?" Naruto spoke to her as she nodded with him.

"I agree. Tou-san too informed me of the possibility of us running into you guys, but I never imagined for that happen in Dangai. By the way, I know it's too late, still...I'm Ichiraku Ayame, nice to meet you," she smiled at them kindly.

* * *

><p><strong>Several Minutes Later:<strong>

* * *

><p>"So this Rangiku person was taken away too? And you guys are here to rescue her?" Ichigo asked with a grim expression, the group currently in a small clearing, surrounded by some light foliage.<p>

"You got it," Naruto nodded back, currently sitting cross-legged in the grassy field.

"Why a kid like you is part of such a dangerous operation again?" the orange haired shinigami deadpanned as a vein popped on Naruto's forehead.

"Who're you calling a kid berry boy?" the blonde asked with twitching eyebrows.

"Berry boy?! You wanna fight punk?!" Ichigo stood up as he pointed an accusing finger at the blonde.

"This Rukia woman sure won't be amused when she finds your battered and limping body trying to save her!" the jinchuuriki jumped to his feet while Ishida just shook his head.

"Such immaturity, both of you are kids," he sighed while adjusting his specs.

…

DWISH!

THWACK!

CRASH!

"Who're you calling immature'ttebayo!"

"Yeah!"

Ayame sighed as she watched both Ichigo and Naruto stomping on Ishida brutally, his form being covered by a dust cloud.

"They sure are getting along, huh Yoruichi-san?" she muttered, currently sitting on a boulder with the black cat on her left shoulder.

"Well look there then..." Yoruichi pointed with her paw as Ayame turned to find Anko showing some ninja feats (walking on a tree's trunk) to Orihime, who was clapping all the while- an excited look in her eyes. Sado too seemed to be appreciating the ninja arts when Kurenai came walking to them.

"Shouldn't we get going Ayame-san?" a serious expression on her face when Ayame jumped to land graciously- nodding with her.

* * *

><p><strong>Several Minutes Later: West Gate of Seireitei: Hakutoumon (White Road Gate)<strong>

* * *

><p>"Here we are," Ayame spoke, the group now standing in front of the massive gates of Seireitei.<p>

"Whoa...talk about being huge. Must take something real powerful to lift this gate," Naruto muttered while Ichigo gripped the hilt of Zangetsu.

'_Rukia...'_

With a grunt, the orange haired shinigami dashed forward as he unsheathed Zangetsu on his way.

"Ichigo wait!" Yoruichi yelled in warning, sitting on Naruto's small shoulders while Ayame just shook her head in exasperation.

'_Looks like we've found another reckless one in her group...'_ she thought while glancing at the blonde she loved.

BHUM!

She snapped her head back upon feeling a tremor run through the ground, to find a massive man standing in front of Ichigo with a scowl on his face.

"I've been observing you guys, and your behaviour sickens me. Are you from an uncivilized area? Cuz this city has rules. First, wash your hands when you come back home. Second, no eating food that has fallen on the ground. Third, duel is nothing else but one-on-one," the giant spoke making everyone look at him with lost expressions on their faces.

The muscular man crossed his arms over his chest as he glared upon the group.

"I'm the guardian of the west gate, and have been for at least three hundred years now. You wanna go through this gate? That ain't happening cause I'll be smashing your pathetic little asses into the ground," his voice booming and gruff while the civilians of the Rukongai had started to gather around the scene.

"Hey look, it looks they are trying to force their way into Seireitei."

"Heh, won't be the first time. Many idiots have died by the hands of Jidanbou in the past."

"Hey, let's make some bets!"

"I'll be betting on Jidanbou this time. Kami knows how brutally he crushed the last person who tried to invade Seireitei!"

**(Bleach OST I: 'Storm Center' by Shiro Sagisu)**

"On Jindabou!"

Soon the crowd began stirring up, hooting for Jidanbou as they surrounded the small group.

"Well this giant looks to be quite famous here..." Anko muttered with a nonchalant expression while Naruto had an expressionless look on his face.

Ichigo lifted Zangetsu to rest it on his shoulder as he stood in front of Jidanbou, unfazed by the size of the guardian.

"Fine then, bring it on. I've got no time for jokes either," he uttered.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"Wait! Let him fight alone, you'll just be getting in his way," Naruto verbalized making Ishida and Inoue stop dead in their tracks as they looked at him in surprise.

"Are you crazy kid? He'll crush Kurosaki like a bug," Uryu spoke seriously while the blonde just sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Can't you sense the difference in the reiatsu of strawberry and that giant guardian? He's got no chance, and you'll just be getting in the way," he pointed out while Jidanbou took an axe, which was attached to his side.

"Alright then, I'm assuming you're the first to go orange boy," the giant said loudly while the crowd's cheering increased in volume.

"I think you should get out of your gigai now Naruto-kun," Ayame spoke, currently standing beside the blonde who just shook his head.

"Not now...there's a reason I asked for this gigai. I need it for when we get inside. We can't be facing every single shinigami that gets in our way...you should know what I'm planning," he muttered back making her nod seriously.

"I see...good thinking."

"Hmm...I had a suspicion that you were hiding something kiddo," Yoruichi uttered as she poked his whiskered cheek with her paw making the blonde pout.

"I hate it when I'm called a kid," he grumbled to himself when the black cat licked his whiskered cheek.

"Why do you take offence to that? You are a child after all, a cute one at that," Naruto couldn't believe the cat just winked at him when they heard Ayame giggle in amusement.

"Why he hates to be called a child? You'll see soon Yoruichi-san," she said.

BOOM!

"I can't believe you're gossiping when we've got a fight on our sides," Anko verbalized with a sweat drop as they noticed a dust screen having formed where Ichigo was standing. The crowd was cheering loudly, asking for the next one to duel.

"One sided fight that is," Kurenai elaborated while Orihime held a concerned look on her face.

"Is that it?" the dust began to clear up as a silhouette became visible. the crowd stopped cheering, while Jindanbou had a shocked look on his face.

**(OST Ends)**

"You..." the giant uttered in surprise as he gritted his teeth before taking out another axe from his shihakushou.

"Another axe huh? Sure, give your best shot," Ichigo worded, a scowl on his face as held Zangetsu loosely by his sides while the crowd surrounding them were deathly silent.

Naruto only narrowed his eyes as he gritted his teeth.

'_Show off...he's wasting our time.'_

"Would you get off my shoulder for a bit neko-chan?" he asked with a grim expression while Ayame looked at him, along with Anko.

"You gonna pull something?" the purple haired kunoichi asked while the blonde went through two hand seals.

'_Oji-san warned us that only the guards themselves can lift these gates. Can't injure him too much...'_

Jidanbou only gritted his teeth in rage as he lifted both of his axes.

"You DARE mock me you insect! I'll crush you!"

Before he could bring down his axes, no one had the time to blink as Ichigo slashed out at blurred speeds.

SQUELCH!

Large amounts of blood spilled, at least for a normal human as Jidanbou fell to his knees- dropping his axes to the ground while he held his injured mid section in pain.

"You lose, now step aside and let us through," Ichigo warned in a cold tone, Zangetsu in his hands.

"W-What the hell happened?! How did I get here?! And who's that 'clone me'?!" Ichigo currently sat unceremoniously on the ground, his hands bare when Kurenai walked to him.

"You were taking too much to defeat that guardian. So Naruto substituted with your body, transformed into you and defeated the guardian with your zanpakutou," she uttered seriously.

"W-WHAT?!" the orange haired teen exclaimed with a freaked expression.

"What the hell do you mean?! Substituted, transformed?! Does that come under your ninja tricks?!" he asked, not knowing how to take these guys' abilities.

"And why did he transform into me anyway?!" Kurosaki pointed an accusing finger, strangely noting that Orihime, Sado and Ishida seemed to be unable to hear him.

"It was a duel right? So he transformed into you, making it look like you defeated him. I put a genjutsu on the crowd out there, making them thinking that you as Naruto didn't move from your spot at all. We are on a tight schedule Ichigo-san, and you should know that we can't waste any time," the genjutsu mistress pointed out the last part coldly while he just nodded shakily.

His eyes widened when he soon found himself back into the front of a kneeling Jidanbou.

'_Who the heck are these guys? I've heard of legends like ninja in our world, but this is ridiculous. Substitution, transformation, illusions? What the hell?!'_ he thought with gritted teeth while the civilians found themselves stunned.

"I-I can't believe it..."

"This guy defeated Jidanbou in just one blow!"

The giant guardian lifted his head, his one eye closed in pain while Yoruichi had her eyes widened.

"You say you put those people under an illusion, along with these three. Then why could I see through it?" the cat questioned, standing beside Naruto while Kurenai had cancelled her genjutsu.

"It's because you possess large amounts of reiryoku, I can tell that you're a captain level shinigami Yoruichi-san. It seems chakra illusions can only work on those with low spiritual energies, or at least those who are suppressing them. I wonder why you had your spiked up," Ayame questioned suspiciously as Yoruichi looked at her.

"I don't have a habit of trusting strangers immediately. So I like to be on my guard," she voiced.

"It's alright. I can understand you being on guard. Hell, we were on our guards all the time too. Being a shinobi gets you like that," Naruto uttered when Yoruichi looked at Ichigo's back.

"H-He's definitely gotten stronger," Ishida spoke in surprise while Inoue and Sado nodded with him.

'_To think that this boy was able to use Ichigo's zanpakutou so easily, and even defeat Jidanbou in just one attack. Well he is the child of prophecy after all...,'_ the black cat thought as she looked back at Naruto who had started to walk forward along with others.

"Y-You are strong. If you were able to bring me to my knees with just one slash, then I know that you are stronger than me," Jidanbou uttered, exhaling unsteadily as he stood up with some effort.

"Y-Yeah. But I-"

"Just keep your mouth shut for now berry boy. I know you're strong, but we need to hurry. So forget your pride," Naruto voiced in a low tone while Ichigo, who was about to come with a retort for the blonde calling him 'berry boy', stopped when he noticed the look in the jinchuuriki's oceanic orbs- they were cold, calculative and full of maturity. Having suffered himself, he knew those eyes weren't that of a normal child.

The blonde of short stature didn't look so short to him right then.

"You have defeated the guard of this gate, so it's only natural that I let you proceed forward. My name is Jidanbou Ikkanzaka. May I know your names?" the giant asked respectfully while the civilians had gone silent.

'_Shit!' _Yoruichi's eyes widened at that.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," the orange haired answered making Jidabou nod as he turned to the blonde beside him, who just pointed a thumb at this chest- a solemn look on his face.

"WAIT KI-"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

…

…

"And I'm Ino-"

Orihime stopped when Jidanbou signalled her to stop, his widened eyes never leaving Naruto. Even the civilians were staring at the whiskered blonde with expressions of horror and disdain on their faces.

"W-What did you say your name was gaki?!" the giant asked with narrowed eyes while Yoruichi just inwardly gritted her teeth.

'_Dammit! Should've warned him earlier!'_

"I said Uzumaki Naruto," he replied.

BOOM!

A blurred fist created a large crater where Naruto was previously standing while Ichigo jumped back due to the impact.

"Naruto-kun!" Ayame exclaimed in worry.

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing bastard!" Anko yelled in anger when Naruto landed beside her from above.

"What's your problem?" the jinchuuriki's eyes were cold, his question not only directed towards a glaring Jidanbou, but towards all the civilians- who were staring at him coldly, as if repelled by his mere presence. Reaching through his enhanced senses, he could hear their hazy murmurs.

"I-It-s him..."

"U-Uzumaki Naruto."

"The child of prophecy."

"No...he's the cursed child."

"Why has he come here?"

"He's nothing but trouble...we should report this to Seireitei!"

**(Suzuka OST: 'Tooi Hi no Kizuato' by Takumi Masanori)**

Closing his eyes, Naruto clenched his fists as he zoned them out.

"_You are quite 'famous' in the afterlife boy. Uzumaki Naruto- the child of prophecy, the human who carries a portion of the spirit king's powers."_

Madara's words back then rang in his head.

"_You think you're famous in a good way? The child of prophecy is considered to be a bad omen amongst the spiritual beings. His life containing suffering and anguish, one who would bring nothing but pain to those who're close to him. The spirit king gave the title of child of prophecy to you. According to him, that child would either bring destruction...or peace to the world, way too idealistic don't you think? Everyone knows such a thing can't happen. A child suffering that much, with such a huge burden on his little shoulders, one who has faced nothing but darkness in his life...is bound to become dark. A personified evil who's going to make those around him suffer, deliberately or not."_

'_Heh, so that Gin jerk was saying the truth. Just like the Konoha huh?'_

Kurenai and Anko were shocked to see the reactions of the residents while Ayame held a sad look in her eyes as she put a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"This cursed child will not go past this gate...the rest of you can go. But not this, _wretched_ spawn," Jidanbou spat, his voice full of hatred as he glared at Naruto- along with all the residents of Rukongai there.

"W-What? But what do you have against Naruto-kun?" Inoue asked in confusion. As far as she knew, he was just a bright cute boy, and really funny. Why would they hate a child like that?

Ichigo held a dark scowl on his face as he gripped Zangetsu tighter.

"What do you have against him? It's our first time coming to Soul Society, the same goes for him. Wha-"

"That's enough. You guys go forward, I'll find a way somehow," Naruto shouted loudly making the group turn their heads towards him at the back- surprise written all over their faces. The blonde's face was emotionless as Ayame's grip on his shoulder tightened.

"No way. I came here with you...and I will go with you. The fact that you think I'll leave you to go forward is ridiculous on its own!" she exclaimed sternly, her eyes glossy.

"We came here as a team, and we will go forward as a team. If this jackass refuses to let you in, we'll find another way in...together," Anko spoke with barely concealed anger, an emotion being directed at the people around them, and at that stupid guardian.

**(OST Ends)**

Yoruichi stared at Naruto for a few moments before intervening.

"I have a better idea. I know someone who can let us break through Seireitei. All of you go, I'll tag along with the gaki," she uttered making Ayame look at her in surprise.

"Are you sure about that neko-chan?" Naruto asked while Yoruichi nodded. Smiling at her, he turned back to a waiting Jidanbou with a serious expression.

"Alright, just let them in!" he yelled as the guardian just grunted before turning around. Ichigo glanced at Naruto while Jidanbou opened the gate slowly.

"Are you sure you would be alright Naruto-kun?" Orihime asked with worry in her eyes while the jinchuuriki just grinned at her.

"Of course I'll be alright!" Ayame averted her gaze from him, not liking that fake grin in the least.

"H-Hurry, I can't hold on to this much longer," Jidanbou uttered, his muscles being strained to the max as he held the gate up.

"Right! Let's go everyone!" Ichigo yelled as he dashed in. Right when the others were about to follow him, they stopped upon noticing a silver haired figure standing in front of Ichigo.

"Well hello you guys. I'm here to welcome you to Seireitei," his aura deadly as he smiled at them coldly.

Ichigo took out Zangetsu, a scowl on his face as he stood in a battle ready position.

"Ichigo wait! He's a captain, you can't take him on!" Yoruichi, who had jumped to Naruto's shoulders shouted in warning. The orange haired shinigami just ignored her while Gin took out his zanpakutou.

"A wakizashi?" Kurosaki commented as the grin on Ichimaru's face only widened further.

"It's not a wakizashi, it's my zanpakutou," he muttered while Naruto was glaring coldly at the man who had taken Rangiku away from him. He was the only one, along with Yoruichi who knew what Ichimaru was going to pull out from his zanpakutou.

"**Ikorose: Shinsou! **(Shoot to Kill: God Spear)"

SWOOM!

BHOM!

"Argh!"

Having brought Zangetsu up at the last moment, Ichigo grunted as he was slammed into Jidanbou due to the momentum: the duo blurring back to skid on the ground while the gate slammed back downwards- completely shut.

"Damn! He got us!" Ishida exclaimed in frustration while Anko and Kurenai had smirks on their faces.

'_I don't know why he was ever considered a dead last in the first place,'_ the genjutsu mistress thought when Anko turned to Yoruichi whereas Orihime was busy in checking over Ichigo and Jidanbou.

"Well, I guess it happened the other way around. Looks like we'll be going with you, while Naruto would be going in," the purple haired kunoichi articulated making the cat look at her in confusion.

"What do you mean? I'm sitting on h-"

POOF!

**(Bleach OST 4- Number One's One Else)**

Landing on the ground in shock, the cat found herself engulfed in smoke as it cleared slowly.

"Well, that was easy," Ichimaru muttered to himself as he sheathed Shinso. Turning around, he began to walk back.

"Where do you think you're going slit eyes?" Gin whipped his neck around upon hearing a voice from behind him. His eyes widened upon finding a blonde haired kid standing horizontally on the surface of the gate, piercing his soul with his cold glare.

'_Heh...that bastard, when he substituted with that Ichigo, he transformed himself into rubble while making his shadow clone substitute back here. He really is serious about this,'_ Anko thought as she smiled while staring at the gate.

"Who are you?" the silver haired captain quickly composed himself as he opened his eyes into narrow slits while Naruto, who was using chakra to stick to the surface of the gate- only smirked coldly at him.

"Uzumaki Naruto sends his regards. Wants me to kick your ass, and step on it again when I'll be returning with Rangiku-chan in my arms."

**And CUT! This is where we pause. I just hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was 10K words long btw, just in case you felt if it was longer than usual lol. ;D**

**Hopefully I'll update sooner next time. And don't forget to review guys! See ya next time! ^_^**

**N6023**


	25. Deeper In

**Chapter 25-Deeper In**

* * *

><p>"Where do you think you're going slit eyes?" Gin whipped his neck around upon hearing a voice from behind him. His eyes widened upon finding a blonde haired kid standing horizontally on the surface of the gate, piercing his soul with his cold glare.<p>

'_Heh...that bastard, when he substituted with that Ichigo, he transformed himself into rubble while making his shadow clone substitute back here. He really is serious about this,'_ Anko thought as she smiled while staring at the gate.

"Who are you?" the silver haired captain quickly composed himself as he opened his eyes into narrow slits while Naruto, who was using chakra to stick to the surface of the gate- only smirked coldly at him.

"Uzumaki Naruto sends his regards. Wants me to kick your ass, and step on it again when I'll be returning with Rangiku-chan in my arms."

Silence reigned in the area for a few seconds as Gin took in the blonde's features, his eyes noticing his whisker marks before they widened in realization.

"I see...you are Uzumaki Naruto huh?" he uttered with a sinister smile while putting his hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou.

"Are you dumb? I just said that," the jinchuriki deadpanned as he jumped off the gate to land fluidly while Ichimaru smiled deeply, in that creepy way of course.

"I should have guessed, the way you fought for her. Of course you would come foolishly to rescue her," the silver haired captain mused while stroking his chin before his hand left the hilt of his zanpakutou, confusing the blonde.

"Well, since you went to such a length to rescue her, I guess you deserve some reprieve huh?" Naruto narrowed his eyes when the captain turned on his heels to start walking away.

"What are you planning?!" the blonde snapped as Ichimaru just waved lazily over his shoulder.

"Nothing, was just checking on something. You better start planning on what you want to do, cause I won't be letting you go the next time we meet. Most of our reiryoku was sealed when you fought us in your world. That won't be the case here, so y-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

An explosive burst of reiatsu radiating off of the blonde stopped the captain as he turned his head to glance at the shinobi behind him.

"Why?" Naruto's cold, unforgiving gaze was like kunai stabbing him right in the eyes as Ichimaru turned to face him.

The blonde shinigami gritted his teeth, clenching his fists white as he glared at the captain in front of him.

"Why did you do that to her?! You're... you're supposed to be most important person for her! Just sending her to her death like that...HOW COULD YOU?!" he yelled, his reiryoku sky rocketing for a second while Gin had a solemn expression on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>Fourth Division's Prison<strong>

* * *

><p>In the darkness of the jail sat a figure in the corner, her back slumped against the wall as she rested her head on her knees, her elbows hugging her knees. Her usually bright wavy blonde hair were dim due to the darkness; her pink scarf now loosely hanging by her back neck in the front.<p>

Her head snapped up suddenly, her blue eyes widening in shock for she had just sensed someone's reiatsu, someone who she loved with all her heart.

'_Naruto!'_

She couldn't believe it! That idiot!

Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, Rangiku clenched her eyes shut as she lowered her face in her soft hands.

'_No...God no...I told you to stay there!'_ she thought, inwardly cursing her own heart- which was about to jump out of her chest in elation. He really had come all the way just for her. She soon sniffed, taking in a deep breath as wet streams flowed down her cheeks.

'_I can't believe this! What is Teuchi-san thinking?! What is HE thinking?!'_

But that was her mind thinking.

'_Yes dammit YES! I knew you would come! I love you so much Naruto! Please! Take me away from here!'_

And that was her heart screaming.

Tak Tak!

Rangiku quickly wiped her cheeks in the confines of her scarf as she lifted her head, blinking a few times to get rid of the moisture.

"Rangiku-san?" a soft voice came from outside the jail as the blonde ex-lieutenant recognized the person to be her regular visitor since she was brought here- Isane Kotetsu.

"Here, it's your meal," the fourth division lieutenant spoke in a poignant tone.

"Hai, arigatou Isane-san. Just place it there," she responded quietly while the silver haired vice captain bent to place the plate just inside the prison. The lieutenant remained bent as she lifted her eyes to observe her ex-comrade.

"What...happened Rangiku-san? You...have changed, a lot. What happened out there?" Isane asked a bit hesitantly as the blonde averted her gaze, her thoughts again filling with her blonde lover.

"Love...happened," she answered, her full lips stretching slightly into a small smile while Kotetsu just looked at her in confusion.

"But...it was just another mission right? In the couple of decades since I got to know you, and...as far as I know you, you...you were never in a relationship. You yourself...seemed to make fun of it all the time, saying that there is no such thing as love. You just didn't seem to need it, always happy, drinking...not having a worry in the world," Isane was sitting cross legged just in front of the jail now while Rangiku rubbed her cheek against her left knee.

"I don't know Isane-san, it just happened. I said all those things because I honestly believed it would never happen to me. Men were just...men to me, nothing special at all. Seeing them just staring at my breasts, and them just seeing me as a thing to achieve...I guess I soon came to a conclusion that no matter what, I'll just be a prize for them," silence reigned for a few seconds as sadness began to cloud her blue eyes.

"In a short time, I just gave up. I felt that of course, there are things other than love too. Like friendship...yes...friends, this place. I cherished Seireitei, I still do. I just, I think I...just gave up on love. Used to just being seen as a piece of meat by men, the focus of woman's jealousy...I stopped caring. I made casual friends, started drinking and just tried to be...happy all the time," she explained, her voice barely audible.

"Rangiku-san..." Isane muttered to herself in surprise, finding it difficult to believe that the person in front of her was truly Rangiku Matsumoto.

"And then he came...that boy," a fond smile took birth on the blonde's face, an affectionate look in her eyes as she kept staring at the wall- as if his face was being projected on it.

"That man...I just didn't have a chance. He's like...no one else I've ever encountered. It was like those stories we used to hear in Rukongai, the shinigami prince charming...coming to rescue you. Even the most simplest of his acts...his idiotic acts, made me fall for him deeper and deeper. The way he carries himself, the way he lived his life...that smile of his, it was all magical. He was...just so honest, so innocent," Matsumoto muttered, her eyes half-lidded- as if in a day dream while Isane listened to her, strangely enraptured by what she was saying.

"Even his flaws made me fall for him. There's nothing superficial about him, and we had just...so much fun together. It was a crazy ride, I was swept away. That's all. I couldn't resist him...any other man I could avoid without a thought but not him. Oh definitely not him, I couldn't, can't...even if I want to," her eyes were shining in the darkness as a light giggle escaped her lips.

"And even when he ogles my breasts, instead of feeling revulsion, insecurity...I feel myself being turned on, I feel secure," Matsumoto uttered while Isane sat there breathless, before releasing a shaky breath.

"You really fell in deep huh? It just happens I guess, you can't see it coming," she murmured before standing up.

"You called him a boy earlier...? I guess you slipped up but, how old is he Rangiku-san? In that world, he must be a shinobi right?" the silver haired vice captain asked curiously as the blonde smiled to herself, now glancing at the lieutenant.

"Yes, he's a shinobi, fresh out of the academy though. He's twelve years old by the way."

...

...

"Huh?"

* * *

><p><strong>Sereitei: Ten Hours Later: Midnight<strong>

* * *

><p>In an empty small compound, in the confines of its darkness was laying a sleeping blonde- about to wake up, if judging by the way he was scrunching his eyes a bit.<p>

His eyelids fluttering slowly, Naruto gazed at the dark ceiling with half-lidded eyes- trying to remember what was going on. His pools immediately widened as the events- just before he fell unconscious flooded his mind.

"Damn it!" he sat up abruptly, rubbing the grogginess out of his eyes as he observed his surroundings.

'_Where am I?'_

Standing up, the blonde walked towards the exit door. Just as he was about to slide it open, he stopped himself before looking around to find a broken window on the upper right corner.

Using chakra, he quickly climbed the height before getting out of the compound. Seeing that it was night time, he couldn't help the string of curses that came out of his mouth- towards one silver haired captain.

'_Bastard! I told him to let me be...what was he playing at anyway?'_

Now standing on the roof of the abandoned compound, and noticing that he was not too far from the gate through which he entered- Naruto observed the peaceful atmosphere of Seireitei. A small gust of cool breeze leisurely grazed his cheeks as he kept staring in front of him at the hill- known as Soukyoku.

'_So that's where they plan on executing Rangiku-chan and that Rukia woman,'_ he thought solemnly. Sighing to himself, the jinchuriki sat down- resting his cheek in his palm as he thought about what to do next. He was now finding, determination aside, what Gin had said was true.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Flashback<strong>

* * *

><p>"Even if she did break the rules, just killing her is really crossingthe line. And seeing that smile on your face makes me think that it doesn't even bother you one bit! How can you be so heartless?!" Naruto exclaimed while glaring at Gin, who by now was staring seriously at the blonde.<p>

"Oh, that's a rather harsh thing to say. But maybe, I am heartless," there was that frustrating smirk again on his face as the jinchuriki clenched his fists.

"Is this all just a game to you bastard? Or do you even care about her. Perhaps she was wrong in saying that you two were close to each other. She is innocent after all, but atleast she now knows your true colors huh?"

"Or maybe, you are just too dumb to see what's reality," Ichimaru commented smoothly, a neutral look on his face.

Stepping forward, Naruto pointed a finger at him.

"I can see reality, and I know that you're hiding something. I can see behind that smile of yours, in those eyes of yours whenever you open them. That's why you keep your eyes closed right? So no one can read you?" he asked as Gin opened his eyes in what seemed to be surprise.

"I know you're planning something, something to protect her. I know it. But it will be all for naught if you try to do this alone! Heck I was trying to come here alone to rescue her, well maybe that was eagerness to see her if she's alright, just to rescue her, and save her from pain and anguish. But I know, and you should know that too that we can't do this alone. We need to work together. The only reason I don't want to fight you is because you are precious to her," the blonde tried to reason with him while the silver haired captain lowered his head, now staring at the ground.

"For a puny twelve year old, you show an awful lot of maturity," lifting his head, he smiled widely.

"If you are here to rescue her, let me give you some advice. This, is a dangerous place, a very dangerous place. You don't know what's going on here, and I'm sure by now you know that you'll only be creating more enemies if everyone gets to know who you are. And what may seem to you first, it may not be that way necessarily. It would be better if you don't stick your nose in other people's business and keep yourself, and her...away from whatever unusual is going on here," Naruto remained quiet as he stared at Gin seriously.

"You are strong, but there are monstrously strong warriors present here. And they can crush you in an instant, so just be wary of where you're crawling into," opening his eyes a bit, he stared into the blonde's eyes before he started to walk back.

"You still haven't answered my question!" Naruto exclaimed as he took out a kunai when Ichimaru suddenly flash-stepped to appear in front of him, his open palm just in front of his surprised face.

"It may be a good idea to follow the medics...**Inemuri** (Forced Slumber)," he muttered while Naruto began to feel himself losing consciousness immediately.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback Ends<strong>

* * *

><p>"Beh, that stuck up asshole. I was careless," he muttered to himself, ruffling his hair lazily with his hand as he pondered on what to do.<p>

'_Follow the medics huh? I guess I'll do just that,'_ Naruto stood up, putting his hands on his knees for support before he gazed at the vastness of Seireitei. Sighing to himself, he pulled his hands in a familiar position.

'_But to pull the medics out, we need some casualties,'_ he thought to himself when he noticed a sudden bright glare coming from above. Whipping his head, his eyes widened upon spotting a large glowing sphere struggling against what seemed to be an invisible spiritual wall- the Shakonmaku.

The alarms soon began to go off throughout Seireitei while the glowing sphere cracked through the wall as it began to glow brighter by the second.

'_Holy...is this what Neko-chan was talking about? They were going to invade like this? By alerting everyone of their presence? What kind of stupid invasion is this?!'_

His plan was now ruined, so much for trying to sneak in and finding Rangiku.

The glowing sphere soon spread into several lightning streaks like fireworks, and Naruto could spot people in those lightning columns as he jumped off the roof.

'_Well, might as well go with the flow and help them with the distraction,'_ landing on a taller builder, the twelve year old teen grinned with a hint of mischief as he pulled his hands in a familiar criss-cross position- building _huge_ amounts of chakra.

"Time to flood this place..."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"GAAAAAAHHHHH! DO SOMETHING ASSHOOOOOOLE!" Ichigo screamed, clinging onto Ganju's back as the two of them descended blurrily towards the ground.

"I MIGHT IF YOU STOP SCREAMING LIKE A WHORE!" he yelled with shark like teeth.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Ahunhaaaaaaa! Do something Anko-chaaaaaaannnn!" Orihime wailed like a little girl as she hugged the snake user tightly to her, almost crushing the air out of the kunoichi as the two of them continued to fell.

"Gah! You're killing me here! GET A GODDAMN GRIP! SHIT...NO! LOOSEN YOUR GRIP DAMMIT!" Anko had a freaked out look on her face, both of her arms trapped in the auburn haired girl's death hug.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Kurenai-san, we're going to die...aren't we?" Chad asked calmly, his hair fluttering wildly as he calmly faced the approaching ground. The genjutsu specialist looked at him awkwardly as she thought of ways to cushion their landing. Of course she would think of something, she was a jounin, for a good goddamn reason.

...

...

"Fuck! I guess we are."

"Thought so..."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Shiba-san could've warned us about this," Ishida spoke, holding onto his glasses as he continued to fall along with Ayame- now hearing sirens and bells going off all across Seireitei, seeing black dots down there, which he could tell were shinigami coming out of their barracks.

"Hold on to me Ishida-san," Ayame uttered as she unsheathed her zanpakutou in a flash. Sliding her fingers on its flat blade gracefully, she muttered to herself.

"**Zoufuku Suru: Sazanami Se-**"

"**TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!**"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- x

A faint scream resounded throughout the Court of Pure Souls as enormous amounts of smoke covered the majority of the place.

'_There he goes again...'_ Kurenai, Anko and Ayame thought simultaneously- their eyes closed, the trio not even bothering to look for they knew this place was probably flooded by orange by now.

'_Holy mother of all fucking shinigami/quincy!'_ Ichigo and Ishida thought simultaneously with funny looks on their faces as some of the running kid blondes soon began to gather where they were going to crash.

"Waaaaahhhhh! Naruto-kun is our heroooo!" Orihime squealed happily as she released Anko, the latter catching onto her breath.

"I guess, we're meant to die another day," Chad muttered while Kurenai accidently noticed '007' written on the back of his T-shirt.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"What the hell is going on here?!"

"We've been invaded by an army!"

"Gah! I never thought I would live to see this place invaded! Finally! It was getting boring in here!"

A huge commotion had been caused by now, every single shinigami of every squad now out of their barracks- gazing into the sky as if fireworks were being presented. Many of them couldn't believe their eyes- for they had thought Seireitei was impenetrable.

"What's all the ruckus!"

"Taicho!" some of the shinigami of the second division exclaimed as Soifon walked through, slinging on her haori.

"We've been invaded taicho! It seems they have breached through the security!"

Her eyes narrowing, she looked up- noticing several lightning streaks, which were fading slowly as they descended towards the ground.

"Quick! Trace their landing sites and capture them immediately! " she ordered as they gave a firm salute before scurrying off in the general directions of the descending invaders.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

'_So...it has started,'_ Aizen thought, adjusting his glasses as he gazed at the invaders while shinigami from his squad were rushing for the emergency procedures.

"Heh! This is going to be fucking fun!" Kenpachi landed beside him with a maniacal grin on his face, Yachiru on his shoulder before jumping off towards who he knew to be the strongest.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Over here berry boy!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Ichigo yelled as they consequently landed on the group of clones- the impact of landing being absorbed with some of the clones being dispelled.

Jumping to land on his feet, Ganju looked around in disbelief as his vision was filled with countless orange wearing blonde kids jumping around towards different parts of Seireitei.

"What is this? What... type of technique is this?" he asked to no one in particular as one of the clones landed beside him, with Ichigo too landing beside him.

"It's my clone technique. It will be good for diverting their attention while we try to find where they have kept Rukia-san and Rangiku-chan," the clone explained as Ganju stared at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking. He's the one we told you about- Uzumaki Naruto. He got in sneakily before. What I am wondering right now though is WHAT he has been doing for the past ten or so hours he was here?" Kurosaki questioned while giving the blonde beside them a pointed look.

"Ahehe...well, let's just say that things didn't exactly go my way and I was unconscious the whole time," he grinned while rubbing the back of his head.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Things didn't exactly go YOUR way and all the time you gained was wasted?" Ayame asked with a twitching brow. A clone smiled at her sheepishly as he just grabbed her hand before pulling her with him.

"Aaaah well! Let's just forget the past and move on!" he exclaimed while she just sighed in exasperation, Ishida closely behind them as he took in his surroundings- that is, his orange surroundings.

'_This is...unbelievable. Even if it's a shinobi technique, to create an army like this in a matter of seconds, this must be something really advanced. And to think this kid can pull it off just like that,'_ the quincy thought, adjusting his glasses as he gave the blonde in front of him a calculative look.

"Anyway, be on the lookout for any medics Ayame-chan, Ishida-san," the clone informed with a serious expression as they stopped for a moment.

"Why?" both Ayame and Uryu asked simultaneously.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- x-x-x

"Shit! We have to get out of here! Fighting this many will be wasting my chakra," Anko cursed, currently standing with Orihime and a couple of clones- surrounded by several shinigami.

"Don't move!" one of them explained, all of their zanpakutou pointing at them.

"Uh...what do we do?" Inoue muttered as she stood frozen in her place when a clone tugged on her dress.

"Inoue-san...just stick with Anko-san," the clone spoke in a low tone.

"You, what are you whispering?!" a shinigami threatened as they slowly advanced towards them.

"Get out Anko-chan!"

POOF!

The clones dispelled suddenly, resulting in puffs of smoke- creating a smokescreen in the process as the shinigami began to cough.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Let's start searching for others," Chad said, now standing with Kurenai with a clone tagging with them just like other groups.

"No, it's better if we spread out. This way it would be difficult for them to catch us," the genjutsu mistress spoke making the clone nod.

"She's right. That's why I created so many clones, we need to create a distraction...and this many clones will definitely distract them. While they take out my clones, we investigate regarding the whereabouts of Rukia-san and Rangiku-chan," he informed making the giant nod.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Oh Neko-chan, what are you doing here alone?" one of the clones landed on a wall just beside where Yoruichi was observing the madness that was taking place in Seireitei.

"A good move Naruto-san, there's definitely more to you than meets the eye," the black cat spoke while looking over the 'scenery' as the blonde grinned sheepishly.

"Anyway, hop on. We should sneak our way in and look for Rukia-san and Rangiku-chan. You seem to be familiar with this place, so...do you have any idea?" he asked as Yoruichi jumped swiftly to land gracefully on his shoulders.

"Yes, I think I may have an idea...let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>First Division Headquarters: Captains Meeting Chamber<strong>

* * *

><p>"All of you can probably guess why I have called this meeting. The situation is simple, we have been invaded by some ryoka. We follow the usual emergency procedures. Catch them, dead or alive. They have disturbed the peace of Seireitei, and they will be punished...harshly," Yamamoto spoke, opening his eyes just a bit to get his point across, the other ten captains standing in front of him in two columns- facing each other. Though a certain bloodthirsty captain was busy in his own pursuit, and a white haired captain called in sick.<p>

"From the reiryoku patterns that I gathered the moment they broke the Shakonmaku, it seems this group includes some shinigami," Kurotsuchi uttered, surprising all of them.

"How is this possible?" Soifon questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Are you sure Kurotsuchi-taicho?" Komamura asked.

"Hn! If I SPOKE what I just spoke, then I'm hundred percent sure. If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have said that in the first place," he replied plainly, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Perhaps Gin taicho would be able to fill us in about their appearances?" Aizen broke the tense silence as the silver haired captain opened his eyes into a slit.

"Yes, you did prevent them from entering through the west gate right? Can you describe them, atleast the ones who are shinigami so that we don't confuse them with our forces?" Yamamoto asked as the silver haired captain began describing the invaders, except for one certain blonde.

"Are you certain that's all to it?" Genryuusai spoke, staring at Gin who just shrugged in a nonchalant manner.

"I'm just describing what I saw, if there are more of them...I don't know, and neither did I detect any reiryoku signatures of someone else there."

"It's possible that these ryoka are here to rescue either Kuchiki Rukia, or Matsumoto Rangiku," the captain commander articulated as Hitsugaya stood there with his eyes closed, not giving any visible reaction.

"Whatever their motive is, capture them immediately. Dismissed!"

* * *

><p><strong>With Ichigo and Ganju<strong>

* * *

><p>"Gah! I did not come here to run away dammit!" Ichigo yelled as he along with Ganju and several of Naruto's clones ran in a random direction, a hoard of shinigami chasing them.<p>

"Neither did we come here to fight an army!" one of the clones screamed when Ganju hollered at them comically.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU RUNNING WITH US! YOU'RE JUST CLONES, GO DISTRACT THEM!"

One of the clone's eyes widened in realization.

"Ah! You're right dattebayo! Hey you guys, dispel yourselves to create a smoke screen!" he exclaimed making others nod.

POOF!

"You can run but you can't hide fuckers!" one of the shinigami exclaimed as they rushed into the smoke screen while the one remaining clone escaped the smoke screen with a grin.

"Heh! This is fun! Create, dispel and run! Huh?!" a confused expression crossed his face as he skidded to a stop, noticing Ichigo and Ganju absent from his sides.

'_Where'd they go?'_

"GAH! I CAN'T SEE A THING!"

"WHERE ARE YOU GANJUUUU!"

The clone sweatdropped as he heard Ichigo and Ganju's screams coming from inside the smoke screen.

"What the...hell? This never happened before?" the clone scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"KILL THEM!"

"DON'T LEAVE ANY PIECE OF 'EM ALIVE!"

The clone sighed upon hearing shinigami's yells coming from the smoke cloud.

* * *

><p><strong>With Kurenai and Chad<strong>

* * *

><p>"It seems they all have been alerted of our invasion," Chad observed, hiding in an alley as he watched a group of shinigami from eleventh division scurrying after a group of Naruto's clones.<p>

"It's just that, we were supposed to sneak in, not barge in. We just announced our arrival to the whole of this place, things have gotten complicated. There's only so much time Naruto-kun's clones can buy us," Kurenai spoke seriously.

"No, like I said, we should just follow the medics and see where it leads us to. That captain seemed to know where Rangiku-chan is held, I'm guessing they are holding her and Rukia-san at the base of operation of these medics," the clone tagging along them uttered, looking around to make sure no one saw them.

"And as you said before, to pull out the medics...we need to create casualties," Chad muttered, deep in thought.

All of their eyes however widened upon feeling a spiritual pressure slam on them.

"You can forget about that," turning their heads up, they saw a female standing on the roof in front of them. A frown graced her delicate features as she took out her zanpakutou.

Her hair was pulled into a bun, which was covered in a white clothe, as she increased her spiritual pressure.

"**Hajike: Tobiume **(Snap: Flying Plum Tree)"

'_Shit! She's a fucking lieutenant,'_ Naruto's clone thought in alarm as Hinamori's blade straightened out, producing two jutte-like prongs along its length.

"Guys, I think it's time to run," the clone spoke in a low tone as he began to back down while Hinamori landed in front of them, a serious expression on her face.

"She's alone, we should be able to subdue her," Chad uttered as he activated his **Brazo Derecho del Gigante** (Right Arm of the Giant), a black-ish liquid covering his right arm, upto his shoulders before solidifying.

Kurenai and Naruto stared at him in surprise, more specifically his arm- with Hinamori sporting a startled expression too.

'_His spiritual pressure is quite impressive...'_ Kurenai thought as she turned to Naruto.

"I think we should be able to handle it...besides, we won't be able to slip past her with just cheap tricks," the genjutsu mistress worded making the blonde shrug.

"Fine with me then," he muttered as the trio now stood, facing Hinamori.

* * *

><p><strong>With Anko and Orihime<strong>

* * *

><p>"Damn, they just keep coming out of nowhere. There's only so much time the clones can provide us," Anko huffed, currently crouched on the roof of a building with Orihime standing aside her.<p>

"I haven't seen a single medic up until now," Orihime said with a sigh, hiding behind a wall as a horde of shinigami passed them by from below, chasing a group of clones.

"It's like they're playing a game of tag...looks like fun," she muttered to herself. Anko sweatdropped at her as she sat down, resting her back against the wall.

'_Now that we've come so far...'_ she thought, massaging her temples- a thoughtful look on her face.

"Anko-chan, can I ask you a question?" Inoue asked, sitting on her small feet as she looked at Anko with a childish curiosity.

"Shoot."

"Why...can't I sense your spiritual pressure? Ever since we've met you, even when you used those ninja tricks, I couldn't sense any reiatsu coming from you, neither Naruto-kun or Kurenai-chan. But...I can feel Ayame-chan's reiatsu," her expression adorably confused while Anko just sighed.

"Yeah, I'll te-"

SZZ!

Her kunoichi reflexes kicking in, Anko kicked Orihime-eliciting a surprised cry from her as she slid back; the purple haired kunoichi too sliding back due to the recoil force.

SWORSH!

Orihime steadied herself to see the concrete blasted off, where she and Anko were sitting just a moment ago.

Having flipped herself into a crouching position, Anko looked up to see a blonde haired shinigami standing in midair.

"You couldn't detect his reiatsu too?" she asked Inoue pointedly making the latter blush in embarrassment as she stood up.

"Um..." she fidgeted as Izuru Kira, who was standing above them, landed on the roof.

"I guess chakra sensing device works after all...gotta hand it to Kurotsuchi-taicho," Kira muttered, staring at the sleek rectangular device in his hand- looking similar to denreishinki.

"What?" Anko asked with narrowed eyes as Kira glanced at her with half-lidded eyes.

"This..." he waved in mid-air, "...helps detect chakra. We had a hunch that you guys must be trying to rescue Rangiku-san, and since you are the only one who possess chakra, let's just say you have no chance of sneaking in," he muttered making the purple haired kunoichi curse under her breath.

"Just fucking great..." seeing a clone passing by through the corner of her eyes, she yelled.

"Hey Naruto! Over here!"

Kira raised an eyebrow as he saw an orange wearing blonde kid land beside the kunoichi in front of him.

The clone, recognizing Kira from earlier narrowed his eyes as he glared at him.

"You..." he whispered harshly, his expression suddenly serious as Anko gazed at him in confusion.

"What about him?"

"He was the one of the shinigami who came for Rangiku-chan," Anko's eyes widened as she glanced back at Kira.

"I see...I'll see what I can extract from him. But, he just told me, oh so idiotically, spilling out their advantage, that they have a chakra sensor device. I need you to inform the others about it. Now shoo, go dispel yourself," she uttered nonchalantly making the clone nod as he dispelled himself.

"And what does that achieve in trying to inform the others?" Kira questioned making the kunoichi grin.

"Hey, I'm not an idiot like you. Don't expect me to spill our lil' secret here."

"Or maybe you're not confident enough?"

* * *

><p><strong>With Ayame and Ishida<strong>

* * *

><p>"Dammit! Ayame-san, I can't see a thing!" Ishida exclaimed in panic as he looked around fervently, not even being able to see his own hand in the pitch black darkness.<p>

"Calm down Ishida-san, just stay where you are," Ayame uttered, her voice nearby. The quincy clenched his hands into fists as he stood his ground. Faintly hearing the sound of a katana being unsheathed, he heard Ayame whisper something incoherent when suddenly; the darkness was lifted blurrily like a curtain.

Looking around, he found her standing just a few inches from him, the duo standing alone in a street- exactly where they had been just a moments ago before the strange darkness had engulfed them.

"I'm...impressed. That is the first time I've seen a shinigami, except the captains get out of that one," Ishida snapped his head when someone appeared via shunpo behind them.

His eyes widened upon inspecting the single figure, wearing a typical, white captain's haori.

'_Damn it! He's a captain!'_ he thought in frustration, not believing they had already faced two captains up until then.

Ayame kept her right hand gently on the hilt of her sheathed zanpakutou, eyeing the dark-skinned captain in front of them.

"Trespassing this sacred territory like that, you've disturbed the peace of Seireitei. And I, cannot forgive you for this. The captain commander has ordered us to capture you as soon as possible, and that's what I'm going to do...to ensure there is no unnecessary bloodshed," Kaname Tousen articulated, standing calmly in front of them as he unsheathed a small bit of his zanpakutou.

"**Nake: Suzumushi **(Cry: Bell Bug)"

* * *

><p><strong>Fourth Division Headquarters<strong>

* * *

><p>Returning from the captain's meeting, Unohana calmly walked into the compound- zoning out the footsteps of her division's healers as they scurried around to heal the incoming injured forces.<p>

She was reeling in her own thoughts, her outward expression exuding nothing but calmness. Inside however, that was not the case.

Soul Society was in danger, more so than ever. And they didn't have much time left...

'_If only I had realized this sooner... Central 46... Sousuke Aizen... Kuchiki Rukia... the vizards... Urahara Kisuke... Yoruichi-san... Kurosaki Ichigo... Kurosaki Isshin... Kurosaki Masaki... and...' _ releasing a shuddering breath, she opened the door to her office.

Sitting on her chair, Retsu put her elbows on the desk heavily- resting her head back as she breathed in deeply.

"We're too late..." she muttered to herself, a lone tear escaping past the closed eyelids as it trickled down her cheek. She was feeling grief, grief for the place she had come to love. And although there was nothing more than fighting that she enjoyed, still...Seireitei was her home.

And even while she was the strongest Kenpachi to ever walk in Soul Society, she felt powerless here. This was not a territory to just march in like a powerhouse, it...

Knock! Knock!

"Enter Isane," she spoke softly as the door shortly opened, the silver haired lieutenant entering with a serious look on her face.

"We're doing the best we can, though they are being injured at a tremendous pace...still we are managing to heal all of them," she said making the black haired captain hum gently.

Unohana opened her eyes as she gazed at her vice-captain lazily, a sense of hope rising in her eyes.

She had never gambled in her life, ever. But now, in desperate times- it was time for her last ditch effort—an effort to save her home.

"Isane, can you lock the door?" she asked as a look of confusion crossed Isane's face before she closed the door gently, locking it afterwards. Turning around, she looked at her expectantly as Unohana stood up wearily.

"You know I'm a captain right? I've been a captain since Seireitei was formed..." she stated as Isane stayed in her place.

"Taicho?"

The fourth division's captain stared into Isane's eyes intensely, her face set into a neutral expression. A cold bead of sweat trickled down the side of Isane's face as she stared back into those black pools.

A tense silence settled between the two, when finally, Unohana muttered.

"You can reveal yourself...Uzumaki Naruto."

Isane's eyes widened in shock as she took a startled step back before quickly composing herself.

"W-What are you...saying taicho?" she gulped nervously while Unohana turned to look outside her window.

"I know why you're here, to rescue Matsumoto-san. You're probably here in regards to where she is right now, and I would've told you and let you go. But... it seems things are getting out of hand, and I'm placing my hopes on the child of prophecy," she spoke, taking in a deep breath.

POOF!

Unohana didn't react visibly upon hearing a puffing sound behind her, her mind whirling like a twister.

Turning around, she came face to face with a blonde of short stature, staring nervously at her.

"Shit...h-how did you know?" Naruto cursed under his breath, also now noting the large spiritual pressure that was slamming on him right now. He knew, there was no way he could run away.

Something was going on with this captain, she seemed...did she really just say what he thought she said? She was willing to just let him go and rescue Rangiku like that?

"You're not trying to run away, that's a good start," she articulated, slowly walking towards the blonde.

Naruto stayed rooted on his spot, his system on high alert as Unohana lifted her hand. His heart thumped against his chest that moment...when she rested it gently on his head.

"I know what she means to you, and what you mean to Rangiku-san. I talked with her the moment she was brought in," she spoke softly as the blonde's eyes widened a bit at that.

"Y-You talked to Rangiku-chan? Is she okay?" there was a certain anxious rush to his voice, the jinchuuriki for a moment forgetting the position he was currently in.

Unohana, seeing the innocence, inside the shelter of his maturity, smiled at him gently.

"As I said, I don't mind that you're trying to save her, it's unfair to her, and you. But, I hope you can forgive me...the burden that you already carry on your little shoulders, and under these grave circumstances, I have to place another huge responsibility on you. I think...that you're the only one, who can do this," she spoke, not looking him in the eye. Naruto looked at her in confusion before his oceanic pools quickly narrowed.

His hands moved in a blur, thumping the skull symbol against his chest. Unohana stayed still as the body of the young blonde slumped to the floor.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm having none of it," she stayed still as the whiskered blonde flash stepped a meter behind her- his right hand already on the hilt of his zanpakutou—now in his shinigami form.

"I'm not playing anything, as I said...no, just know that Soul Society is in deep danger right now. And in the very, very near future, I can see it being destroyed from the inside. I, can't just sit here and do nothing about it. There's a huge conspiracy going in Seireitei right now, as you invade...and I, the only one who knows- is powerless to do anything. That's why..." she bowed her head down, her eyes moist.

"I...don't understand. I can sense your reiryoku reserves, and they are huge. I can tell that you're an extremely strong fighter, and you can kill me in the blink of an eye...then why, why are you telling me all this? I'm no part of this, I'm just here to save Rangiku-chan and get the hell out of here," he said resolutely, the black haired captain nodding with him.

"Of course, you have no responsibility for this dimension. You don't belong here, and I'm sure most of the people here will hate you. However, as I spoke before, I'm pleading with you. It's not a matter of how much stronger I am than you, it's rather the potential that you hold. I'm asking you this because you're the only one who has even a remote chance of saving this place," she muttered while he shook his head with a frustrated sigh.

"Listen, I've gotten through a lot of shit to know that when people are trying sugar talk you, there's a whole lot of something they are not telling you," he verbalized, feeling himself more confident regarding the vulnerable situation he was.

"It will take time to tell you something of...that magnitude. I'm not sugar talking you, you know what you hold inside yourself. You yourself know the potential you hold, I'm sure of that," she spoke making his narrow his eyes.

"If I told you to summarize what you want me to do in one line, what would you shoot?"

Unohana pursed her lips as a tense silence settled between the two, the blonde looking at her with an unwavering gaze. Glancing at the floor, she appeared to be deep in thought before looking back at him- her gaze hardening into glacial orbs.

"I want you to kill the captain commander of Seireitei, Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto."


End file.
